Dungeons and DRHN
by TravisT
Summary: A team of self trained huntsmen traveling to each kingdom to bring their downfall. Once their paths cross with a team from Beacon, their whole points of views about the academies may just flip upside down.
1. Chapter 1: A Childhood Foresaken

Chapter 1: A Childhood Forsaken

Many know of the heroic exploits of those trained for such feats. Heroes… Huntsmen, as the world of Remnant prefer to call them. Those who are unable to defend themselves… they look up to such faces for protection. And all things considered, they do quite the job at it. But no system is perfect. There will always be those who falter in the face of danger. And when courage and heroism is replaced with fear and cowardice, lives are lost in its wake. This is the story of a single child who fell victim to the cowardice of the huntsmen, and of the oblivion of which it brought not just to them, but their entire people. This is the story of a child who would grow up to despise these 'heroes'.

It all started just south of Vacuo, on the border of the desert which surrounds it. The date was June 25, 1987, Earthen time. 30 years before the Fall of Beacon.

A single village was under attack. A pack of exotic Grimm raided the village, slaying any man and woman in sight. The children were taken for the Grimm in the nest. They needn't sustenance from the youth. It was for nothing more but sport. A sick and twisted method to strengthen the newer Grimm.

"You have to run!" A mother said to her only son.

"I can't! I can't leave you and Dad!" The boy screamed.

"You must! The Grimm will let you live, but only for their entertainment! You must go to the Vacuo kingdom! Only then can you be safe!" The mother yelled through the raging fires.

"Dain Ral! You MUST leave! I know you can make it on your own!" The father shouted.

"But what about you?!" Dain shouted.

"If we live, we'll find you in Vacuo! We promise!" The father yelled, using his sword to behead a Beowolf. Dain then ran as fast as he could, but with his small form, and with so much luggage, he grew exhausted once he escaped the village. He then looked up to a man with armor, and a sword.

"Are there survivors?" The man asked Dain.

"Yes! My parents are in there somewhere!" Dain exclaimed.

"We'll get them here. Get out of here for now." The man said. Dain then picked himself up, and ran as far as he could. Though the news would say tomorrow that the panic was first started by bandits setting the village ablaze, then releasing the Grimm in, Dain knew full well that it was because a Huntsman left his post, and for nothing but to get home early. The selfish greed of a single man caused the deaths of tens of innocent lives.

And Dain would later swear to never let an incident like this ever happen again.

"I promise you, gods. I swear I'll bring them all down myself!" Dain shouted to the skies, for that night he had no company. One hour before, he had a whole family, happily living their lives.

[Ten years later]

"Remember people, we always have our huntsmen to protect you!" The headmaster of Haven academy said.

"Protection, my ass. The only thing saving us are the mountains. The Grimm would rip this place to shreds within a day." Dain snarled. His hair was red and short, with fire red eyes, wearing a short, black, scale woven coat with a fitted mahogany red shirt with the head of a dragon on it, and beige pants, tucked into brown leather boots.

"Don't forget the advanced technology. Without that, it would be an hour at least." A friend of Dain's said.

"Lionheart simply lives in his special little haven, safe from all harm, while people like us struggle daily." Another of Dain's friends said. Meanwhile another approached.

"Just got another assignment. Apparently, this guy promises a safe flight to the next kingdom to whoever will do the job." Dain's friend said.

"Excellent. We can finally get a layout of Vale kingdom. Team DRHN(Dragon), move out." Dain said. The three others, known as Ron Fare, who had platinum blonde hair, dark green eyes, with a dark yellow shirt with a sword on it, the blade with the look of a lightning bolt, and wore beige pants like Dain, Lucia Hyouga, who had neat, pure white hair down to her knees, with silver eyes, and a cyan shirt with a halo on it, and a cyan long skirt, and Nayru Lana, who had cobalt blue hair only running down to her neck, along with dark blue eyes, with a sky blue dress shirt with a Schnee logo on the breast pocket, and black pants with blue leather boots, all gathered their supplies and weapons, and headed to the south of Mistral. They all also wore similar coats to Dain, except for Lucia, who had a pure white long coat.

[Fifteen minutes later]

The four approached a cabin deep within the woods of Mistral. They entered, and there they saw a man being treated from a serious head wound.

"You must be the team. Please, come in." The man said. The team obliged.

"What's the mission? Nayru didn't exactly give the details." Ron asked.

"Because I wasn't given the details." Nayru said.

"I only ask you of one favor. Deep in these woods is a fearsome Grimm, far stronger than its kin before. It takes the form of a bear, but it does not look like any Ursa. I fought it off for a while, but for the price of this." The man said, showing the stump where his arm should've been.

"Tough customer, huh?" Hyouga said.

"And I wasn't alone, either. My whole team got obliterated by this calamity of a Grimm. If you can avenge them, I'll be more than happy to deliver you to the next kingdom." The man said.

"Anything to get to Vale. It'll be a nice warmup for the coming battles." Dain said.

"Do not mistake this for a game, boy. This beast killed more than just my team. And though I wasn't alone, the beast was far from isolated. A horde of Beowolves ambushed us mid battle. Be wary of them." The man said.

"So clear the area, kill the big scary bear, and come back to you. Okay, sounds easy enough." Dain said.

"But one more thing. I cannot just take your word for it. The evidence of its death must be a blade stuck in its back. You won't miss it, as it is a bright golden blade. And don't try to get away easy, as the blade is permanently stuck in it. Even if you catch it sleeping, pulling it out would be like moving a mountain. Only killing it will remove the blade. Bring it to me, and I will bring you to Vale." The man said.

"Right. We'll get this done as soon as we can." Hyouga said.

"Avenge me and my friends, and I promise your safe travel." The man said. The team then headed out, but not before being stopped one more time.

"My master wishes to give you this." The maid said, handing Dain a strange slate.

"What's this?" Dain asked.

"It is a prototype of a communicating device my master was working on. He calls it a Scroll. He linked it to the recently made CCT Towers, and should allow communication to any of this device within 2000 miles." The maid said.

"2000 MILES?! That's almost half of the entire Mistral continent! This little slate can do that?!" Dain exclaimed.

"Yes. My master was a technological genius, and even helped Atlas create the computing devices within the CCT Towers. He retired from that line of work to work on this device." The maid said. She then handed the other three their own Scrolls.

"How can one put so much technology in a slate the size of a hand? Man, technology is crazy these days." Hyouga said.

"Possibly the only good thing that came from the Huntsmen academies." Ron said.

"My master has such views as well. He believes that they are holding back the students' true capabilities." The maid said.

"Well, he isn't wrong." Nayru said, looking to Hyouga.

"Well, we should be going." Dain said.

"Of course. I wish you luck in your quest." The maid said, bowing to them. They then set off, in search for the beast which the man described. But the journey was much longer than they anticipated. They stayed on the path, but once they reached a fork in the path, they were stuck.

"We should test the limit of these devices. We split in two teams. Hyouga and I will go together, while Ron and Nayru stick together." Dain said.

"A-are you sure, Dain? Usually, Nayru and I would stay together." Hyouga said.

"Hyouga, you'll be fine. Dain has been fighting since he was young, so you should be fine by his side." Nayru said.

"I-It's not that. I haven't discovered my semblance yet, and usually Nayru helps me with that. I'm just… I…" Hyouga stuttered.

"I know Lionheart never helped you, but I'm not him. I would do anything to learn your semblance, Hyouga. You fight the same cause as us, so we should all support each other." Dain said.

"Yeah, don't feel bad about it. Hell, I didn't know my semblance until I met Dain." Ron said.

"And Atlas was a prison for me more than anything. Just keep an open mind, and I assure you we'll find out your semblance sooner or later." Nayru said.

"O...Okay." Hyouga said.

"If you find the target, do not engage it until all surrounding foes are annihilated and until we can regroup. When we engage the target, strike hard and strike deep. Use your abilities to your advantage, and never give it a chance to counterattack." Dain said. They all nodded, and they went their separate ways. They tested the Scrolls, and they worked even in the dense forest.

"You gotta give the man credit, he did a good job with these Scroll things." Dain chuckled.

"If these things were mass produced, people would be able to communicate from around the world. Just a day ago, that was a crazy dream." Hyouga said.

"You have optimism. I appreciate that. None of us were very happy to live here until we found you." Dain said, giving Hyouga a warming smile.

Hyouga blushed. "I-It's really nothing. To be honest, I was failing in Haven. My battle skills were dull, my grades were low- even my team despised me, because they thought me of nothing but deadweight. If I'm honest, I'm even surprised I made it through initiation."

"It's because no one would help you find your strength. It's because of all their negative emotions that they've had such problems with the Grimm. Am I wrong?" Dain said.

"No, you're not wrong. For every Grimm attack, if one person was even scratched, even the teachers blamed me. Lionheart never expelled me because he was too scared to make the wrong move." Hyouga felt a tear slip through her eye. "You guys are the only people to ever show me any kindness or compassion."

"And I'll make sure no one ever hurts you again. We all will." Dain said.

"I hope the people in Vale are just nicer than everyone in Mistral." Hyouga said, wiping the tear from her face.

"Well, it IS a place known for its criminal activity and black markets. No one expects the first person they meet here to be kind. At least in a genuine way." Dain said. "And besides, of all the Academies, Beacon is the least intimidating, as far as teachers and students go."

"I know." Hyouga nodded. "Wait…" Lucia kneeled down behind a bush. Dain went behind her.

"What's wrong?" Dain whispered.

"Grimm." Hyouga responded. Dain looked to where she pointed, and he saw two Beowolves, sniffing at a trail of blood.

"They must be tracking him. Guess they really want to finish the job." Dain whispered.

"Plan?" Hyouga asked.

"You take the one to the left. I got the right. You think you can handle that?" Dain asked.

"Of course." Hyouga nodded.

"On my go." Dain said. He waited for the right moment, and gripped his blade, a two and a half foot long single edged blade with a red tint, but with a black edge, and a hand guard. Hyouga had two foldable katanas that can combine into a longbow. They had a pure white tint, the hilt being sky blue. She notched an arrow and aimed at the head. "Three… two…. Now!" Dain rushed the right Beowolf as Hyouga fired her arrow at the other one's head, the arrow going straight through the left eyeball and piercing the right one as well. It was instantly blinded, allowing Hyouga to rush it and slice it in two. Meanwhile Dain sliced the Beowolf's arm off with one swing as he rushed it through with the second slash. "Impressive aim, Hyouga."

"Ryle and Hu seems to be more accurate with the upgrades you guys gave it." Hyouga said. Ryle and Hu, as she mentioned, was the names of her swords. They folded into the hilt and she buckled them to her belt. "How is your sword fairing?"

"Jigoku is doing well. Though it seems sharper than usual." Dain said, sheathing Jigoku.

"Well, we should hurry along." Hyouga said.

"Yeah. The sooner we get to Vale, the better." Dain said. They proceeded down the path, the only sounds resonating being those of their footsteps, and the rustling of the leaves under their feet. Then they heard more, those of gunshots.

"Sounds like Ron and Nayru are having some company." Hyouga said.

"Hopefully they don't catch us in their crossfire." Dain said.

"That's not what I'm worried about." Hyouga said.

"You know as well as I do that they can take a few strikes before they go down." Dain said.

"It's not that either. It's just… I hope that this will all end soon. I mean, what'll be benefiting us to take down the academies?" Hyouga asked.

"If the world sees how easily the Huntsmen go down, they'll see the true frauds they are, and they'll want more structured forces to protect them. That's why I like Atlas so much, they actually have a structured military, disciplined, and they know their places. Though, from Nayru's point of view, and how they treated her, she only sees them as self-respecting, over privileged S-O-Bs. And she may be right. After all, no system is perfect." Dain said.

"You say it like you know it fully." Hyouga said.

"I do. I know the selfishness of huntsmen first hand. My village was destroyed because of one man's greed. Can you imagine how it feels? To have all you love wiped out in less than half an hour?" Dain growled.

"Dain, I… I'm sorry. I never knew-" Hyouga said.

"Don't be sorry. It's not like you could change it now. The past can never be changed." Dain said. "But it's alright, because once we learn of Vale, our plan can proceed. We ju-" He stopped himself in his tracks, along with hers.

"What is it?" Hyouga asked.

"Shh. Behind that bush." Dain whispered. They rushed to the nearest bush, and peeked through it, to see a beast beyond their imaginations. It was in the form of an Ursa, but three times the size. Its white claws were stained with crimson, along with its fangs, which stench of rotting flesh, at least a week's worth of decay. And littered around it were hundreds of bones picked clean of any meat or fluid.

"I feel like I'm gonna vomit." Hyouga gagged, holding back bile.

"Don't make a sound." Dain said. "I'll have to contact the others. Moment of truth." He took out the Scroll, and dialed Ron. "Please, come on, come on." Dain gritted his teeth.

"Dain! Is that you?" Ron asked.

"Shh! We're right next to the target!" Dain whispered.

"Sorry. Where are you?" Ron asked.

"I'm sending you co-ordinates." Dain said.

"I see… gotcha. We'll be there in a matter of seconds." Ron said.

"Don't hog all the fun to yourselves." Nayru said.

"You can count on a few kills today." Dain smirked, hanging up.

"Should we secure a bit of area here?" Hyouga asked.

"Might as well. Make it easier for them." Dain nodded. But as much as they looked around, they saw no sign of Grimm activity, aside from the target. "This is odd. He said the whole area would be infested with Grimm."

"Maybe we got off lucky this time." Hyouga suggested.

"Maybe… okay, once we group up with Ron and Nayru, we'll strike the beast while it sleeps." Dain said. Hyouga nodded, and it didn't take long for them to spot Ron and Nayru. They regrouped relatively quick.

"Okay, how many are left?" Ron asked.

"Just the target, as far as we could see." Dain said.

Nayru raised an eyebrow. "How did you two take out every Grimm around here?"

"Well, there were none." Dain shrugged.

"This seems a bit fishy. No Grimm at all?" Nayru asked.

"Yeah, aside from the ones we faced getting here." Dain said.

"Hey, I see the golden blade thing." Ron said.

"Don't go. We need to-" Nayru said, but Ron was already right in front of the beast. "Dammit! That fool always acts before he thinks!"

"Don't worry, I already got the golden-" Ron said, tugging on the sword, but it refused to budge. "-sword. Uh, did someone ultra glue this thing?" That was all it took to awake the beast, and throw Ron straight into a tree. "Ouch. Alright, a bear fight you want? THEN IT'S A BEAR FIGHT YOU'LL GET!" Ron shouted, bringing out his weapon, gauntlets with claws for fingers, the right one a silver tint with a sapphire in the palm. The left was night black with a ruby imbedded into the palm. "It's supper time, and I got a special plate of Dread and Fusion! Enjoy your last supper, big guy!" Ron then rushed the beast, the claws digging into the beast's chest. But the beast didn't even let out a groan of pain. Instead, it huffed at Ron's attempt to attack. "Uh, you wouldn't want that bagged, would you?" The beast refused his offer and slammed him through three trees, sending him back first into a stone cliff.

"RON!" Hyouga exclaimed.

"Heh…" Ron coughed. "Just keep hitting me, demon. 'Cause you won't like what happens next." Ron then curled his hand to a fist, and hit the beast with such force it created a crater in the ground where it stood, and it sent the beast flying. Unfortunately, if the blade wasn't stuck before, it sure was now, as it dug all the way into its back. The beast roared with the stinging pain, a bellowing roar that shook the earth.

"We need to act. That thing'll attract every Grimm within a country mile, and we don't want to be here when backup shows up." Nayru said.

"Right. Fight head on!" Dain said, using Jigoku to slice a tree down on the beast, which brought it down for a short while, allowing the team to form up. "Alright. Nayru, Ron, Northern Blaze!" Nayru and Ron nodded, and commenced their team attack. Nayru used her weapon, a wrist blade extending up to two feet, which can withdraw to an elemental blaster, which is just what she'll use to fire a fire bolt at Fusion, and an ice bolt at Dread, which are both of his gauntlets. With one ablaze and one covered in ice, he smashed them together, to set both gauntlets ablaze in an ice white fire. He then sent one blast of that icy fire at the beast, freezing it in a casing of dry ice, while Ron uppercut the beast with Fusion to send it flying into the sky.

"With the dry ice combo and with Ron's semblance in full action, you really chose a good time to use that attack." Hyouga said.

"Sometimes the battlefield sets itself up for victory, and I know how to put this to a quick close. Nayru! Time for Goddess Gale!" Dain said. Nayru aimed her crosshairs at the beast in the sky, who was starting to come down now. Hyouga aimed Ryle and Hu at the beast, led the shot, and fired her arrow, which Nayru fired at to power it with electric dust, which pierced the beast and fried it entirely, and with a golden blade in its body, the conductivity was far greater. With that, the beast slammed to the ground, dissolving within a matter of seconds. And from the dust, they picked up the sword, which was covered in black tar-like goo.

"Eww. Grimm puss." Nayru said. "Don't touch it, unless you want to have a slow, agonizing death."

"Yeah, I'll pass on that. Hey, Dain, wanna hold on to this?" Ron asked.

"Don't joke around. You know what this means now." Dain said.

"We get four first class tickets to Vale. Our dreams are about to become reality." Nayru said.

"Hey, is anyone else getting a warm, fuzzy feeling? I-It's not just me, right? Am I shaking?" Ron said in pure excitement.

[A few minutes(and Grimm battles) later]

The team finally arrived at the man's cabin once again, where the man now had a new arm of metal. "I trust you finished the job."

"Here it is, as we promised." Dain said, handing the man the golden blade, now cleaned.

"I am glad that that abomination is dead. Well, a promise is a promise. You kept up your end, it's only fair if I keep up my end. Here, take these." The man said, giving the team four airship tickets. "Tell them that Vash sent you."

"Wait, YOU are Vash?!" Dain exclaimed.

"Yeah, Vash! ...Who's Vash?" Ron said.

"Only the most leading man in all technological advances! Without him, half of the Amity Colosseum would still be in development." Dain said.

"Now now, you give me too much credit. If not me, then my entire team. We were team VECC, a team that relied on advancements in technology." Vash said.

"Huh. Well, that explains how you got a new arm so fast." Ron said.

"Now, you should go. The next flight is in about… half an hour." Vash said.

"Crap, it's twenty-five minutes just to get back to Mistral! Team DRHN, move out!" Dain exclaimed, and they ran as fast as they could to Mistral.

"Run fast, brave knights. The future of Vale may just change yours as well." Vash muttered.

A/N

This has been a while coming. I'm glad I could dish this out this fast. But I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, and I know, watch out for the butterfly effect. And keep in mind that this story is being made before Volume 5, so if there are any plot irregularities, that's why. But if you liked it, you know what to do to stay updated.


	2. Chapter 2: The Shining Spire

Chapter 2: The Shining Spire

The team boarded the airship, and just in time too, as they were the last to board. Then the ship took off, and they left Mistral at long last. For the others, it was a grace. For Hyouga, it was both a blessing and a sorrow.

"I don't know how to feel. Sure, they treated me like trash, but I still have an emotional tie to this kingdom. My family is still there, and they never did anything to me." Hyouga said.

"Hey, anywhere is better than there. Especially Vale, from what I hear. Unlike Mistral, Vale has two benefiting factors. Mountain ranges and shallow waters. We should be relatively safe from Grimm attacks. Vale is known to be quick to act in those kinds of scenarios." Dain said.

"Right. But it still sometimes relies on the power of Atlas to function." Nayru said.

"That's why I'm still unsure about this. Wouldn't it make more sense for us to-" Hyouga said, but then realized they weren't alone on the ship. To even speak of the kingdoms falling would give them some unwanted attention, and possibly an early landing.

"To what?" Ron asked.

"Nothing. Forget it." Hyouga said.

"Whatever you say." Ron shrugged.

"Attention passengers, we will be arriving at [Vale] in [20] minutes. Thank you for choosing Mistral Airlines." The automated announcer said.

"We worked hard to get here. I think we deserve a rest for now." Dain said.

"Damn straight. Hey, you think they got any chips on this ship?" Ron asked.

[20 minutes later]

The ship circled over Vale, and with the setting sun, the west side of the city was covered in a green hue.

"Wow. Vale sure is beautiful." Hyouga gasped.

"Yeah, but it's nothing compared to the sunset on the Vacuo dunes." Dain said.

"You come from there?" Hyouga asked.

"Yeah. It was on the boarder between Vacuo and Vale. When my village fell, I hauled my ass to Vacuo, hoping they'd accept a little kid. The thing about Vacuo is that if you can survive a trek from the boarder to the kingdom, they'd see you as one hell of a fighter. So you can imagine what they thought when they heard a little kid made the journey. And this was proof." Dain said, showing a scar on his right forearm.

"How did you get that?" Hyouga asked.

"What else? Grimm saw me crossing the desert, and they thought me as free chase." Dain said.

"I imagine they regretted that mistake." Hyouga said.

"Not entirely. See, I didn't unlock my aura until I was 13. I was 12 at the time. Just think, a 12 year old, almost to Vacuo, with a pack of Grimm right on his tail. My only choice was to fight. So I did. With only a katana to defend myself, I drew it and slew a Grimm with one swing. Another charged me, and I sliced it in two. The third one got the drop on me, and I protected myself. With the cost of having my arm sliced open. But my adrenaline prevented the pain from reaching me, and I slashed upward with all my strength, and killed the damn thing. But when the pain kicked in, I could hardly contain myself. The sand was red with my own blood, which was quickly escaping. I knew if I didn't help myself, I'd bleed out and die. So I took my jacket, ripped the sleeve off, and wrapped my arm up. As you can imagine, it hurt like hell. But I endured, and it slowed the bleeding. I ran as fast as I could to Vacuo, and fainted right in front of the gate. For that one time, I was grateful for the academies, as they treated my wounds. They told me if I had lost any more blood, I would've been…"

"Dain… I never knew you suffered so much. No wonder you hate them so much." Hyouga said.

"Yeah. But we all share the same anger. I just hope there are others here that can support our cause." Dain said.

"Man, I never even thought of that. Just think, team DRHN and another team, both to accomplish the same goal! Dain, your expectations have no limits." Ron laughed.

"Don't put money on it, Ron. Not many in Vale have as many experiences from Grimm as we do, so it's likely that it'll just be us." Nayru said.

"Man, a real downer you are." Ron sighed.

"Now landing. Location [Vale]. Enjoy your stay." The automated announcer said.

"Time to go to work." Dain said.

They left the airport and headed into Vale. But they then realized that none of them even knew the layout of the kingdom. "Ugh, this is stupid! We're a group of huntsmen, and we can't even navigate these roads without getting lost!" Nayru exclaimed.

"So much for all Atlas people being civil." Ron sighed.

"Ron, don't get her started." Dain said.

"We've been walking for half an hour! And in that half hour, we haven't seen one hotel of any kind!" Nayru shouted.

"Gotta admit though, they have some cool merchandise here." Hyouga said, putting on a Beacon academy hat.

"Why would you get that? Remember what our mission is?" Ron asked.

"That's why I got it, so we don't look suspicious here." Hyouga said.

"Hmm… actually, that's not a bad idea. The people here are more paranoid than you'd think, especially with the Faunus starting to revolt. Though, the White Fang seems peaceful enough, thought the news likes to say otherwise." Dain said.

"What else do you expect? One Faunus move a hair, and the people throw a tantrum. Honestly, and you guys call me uncivilized." Nayru said.

"It's not a competition, Nayru. At least, not for us. The Faunus can do whatever they like. If they want to wave signs and say they don't like the way they're treated, let them. Who knows, maybe they'll even help us out in the end." Dain said.

"Maybe we should ask someone for directions." Hyouga suggested.

"I hate asking for help, but… I guess now, we don't have a choice." Nayru sighed. They approached a woman with a white cloak.

"Excuse me, but do you know the direction of any good hotels?" Dain asked the woman.

"Pardon?" The woman asked.

"Are there any good hotels nearby?" Hyouga asked.

"Oh yeah, there's the Sunny Hillside Inn not too far from here." The woman said.

"Could you maybe point us in the direction?" Nayru asked.

"Yeah, just north of here. Take a right down that street, and you can't miss it." The woman said.

"Thanks a bunch. We just got to this kingdom for a mission, so we're kinda new to this place." Dain said.

"Happens all the time, don't worry. Even I get a little confused around here, and I grew up in this kingdom." The woman laughed.

"Well, we should be going. Thanks, uh…" Dain said.

"It's Summer." The woman said.

"Yes it is. Though, we're coming to August." Ron said.

"No, my name is Summer." Summer laughed.

"Oh. Sorry. Name's Ron." Ron said.

"And the rest of you?" Summer asked.

"Dain Ral. This is Nayru Lana and Lucia Hyouga." Dain said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Summer bowed.

Pleasure's all ours. If we hadn't met you, we'd probably be wandering Vale all day." Nayru said.

"Happy to help some newcomers." Summer smiled. Her smile, even to them, was as warm as a summer's sun.

"Hope we meet again. Have a good day." Dain said, waving goodbye,

"She seemed nice." Hyouga said.

"Like I said, the people here are much nicer than those in Mistral. Why, I might stay here once this is all said and done." Ron chuckled.

"No kidding. But we still have an objective here. As well, we're now an official huntsmen team, we can act as one. Though I despise them, we can do whatever we can to ensure the safety of the civilians." Dain said.

"It's a wise decision. We can convince the people that we mean to hep them, and with their trust, we can move with more flexibility, unlike in Atlas and Mistral. Well, Mistral, before we met Hyouga." Nayru said.

"Here we are. Sunny Hillside Inn. Uh, we have Lien to pay for it, right?" Dain asked.

"Umm…." Nayru muttered, rummaging through her pockets, as did Hyouga and Ron. "Eheheh. Um, maybe we could take a loan?"

"We can't. We used the last of it on the last hotel we stayed at in Mistral." Dain sighed.

"Ron, what did I tell you about room service?" Nayru sighed.

"What? Okay, so I might have order a bit too much last time. If I knew our financial troubles were this bad, I wouldn't have done it." Ron said.

"You've known for so long! It took half of my Lien just to get us to Mistral safely, and the other half you blew on…" Nayru said.

"Hey, that was NOT what I used it on! I do have standards, after all." Ron said.

"Either way, we have little to no Lien. Unless some miracle were to happen, I hope someone knows of any nice street rat dens, otherwise we'll be-" Dain said, a roar of thunder crashing the now dark sky. "In the rain."

"Well now what?" Ron sighed.

"I like rain as much as the next guy, but I prefer to not catch a cold." Nayru said.

"Umm… maybe…" Hyouga muttered.

"Wait… this way!" Ron said, waving the team his way. They had no other choice. They followed Ron into an alley.

"So you do know some street rats. Good to know." Nayru smirked.

"It's not exactly a street rat, more of an old friend. But, uh, bit of advice. Whatever you do, especially you two Lucia and Nayru, don't get too violent when he tries." Ron said.

"Tries to do wha-" Nayru was about to ask, but then realized what he meant. "Oh. Oh, you fucking kidding."

"Nope. Also, watch the language." Ron said. "Well, just in here. And he has some problems of his own, so helping him out may just help us a bit."

"Wait wait wait. How do you know this guy? I found you in Vacuo, last I checked." Dain said.

"I have my secrets too. You guys aren't the only ones with a backstory. I was originally born in Vale, but my parents sent me to Vacuo after Signal academy couldn't find my semblance. That's when I found Dain. He helped me find my semblance. Which, as you can guess, is a rather cool one. At first, it does nothing, but once my adrenaline kicks in, my world slows down, and I can dish out twice the damage, as well as move twice as fast. And it was all thanks to Dain for dueling me in the first place." Ron said.

"Well, I'm suddenly glad you're on our side." Hyouga said.

"You were born in Vale? Why'd you never say?" Dain asked.

"Because it was never relevant until now. If I said I was born in Vale from the get go, you'd just think I was a walking GPS." Ron said.

"Well, he wouldn't be wrong." Nayru said.

"But I do know this one guy. My father used to visit this guy frequently. And also, don't bring my dad. He's, uh, a little emotional about it." Ron said. "Here we are." They just now came to a bar.

"Junior's? Never heard of this guy anywhere else." Dain said.

"Because he's Vale exclusive." Ron said. He opened the door, and inside they went. The bar wasn't much to look at, as it was fairly run down. It was cluttered with numerous huntsmen, some more shady than others. But the team walked past them, and went straight to the bar man.

"What're you here for? Need a drink?" The bartender asked.

"Not today, old friend. We need a favor." Ron said.

"'Old friend', huh? Never seen your face here, pipsqueak." The bartender said.

"Of course you have. It's just been a long time, Junior." Ron said.

"Oh yeah? What's the name?" Junior asked.

"Ron Fare." Ron said.

"Wait, Fare? Why, hell! I thought you were dead!" Junior laughed.

"It's a surprise for everyone." Dain said.

"Whatever that means. Anyway, what brings you here today? Last I checked, your parents sent you to Vacuo for good." Junior said.

"I decided to cut my vacation short. We're a bit short on Lien, though, and could used your help." Ron said.

"I ain't a bank, kiddo. But, if you can scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. I got a few jobs from patrons that need to be done. Pays pretty well, too." Junior said.

"That's all we need to know." Nayru said.

"I'm sure you'd like to hear this, too. Some of them are pretty tough. Even graduated huntsmen have troubles with these jobs. Thought you'd oughta know." Junior said.

"Tough jobs, huh? Nothing new to us." Dain said.

"Oh, I'm sure it's not. Most of 'em are from Vale. You kids look like you're Vacuo strong. Maybe even Atlas strong. But know that this is a bad time of year. It's Grimm migration, and that means exotic Grimm moving from all corners of Remnant. Keep an open mind, though, and you'll be fine." Junior said.

"Will do." Ron nodded.

"So first off, for a little bit of Lien, I have a job for you. A while back, a Grimm snuck in and gave me this." Junior gestured to a scar on his arm, visible from a rip in his shirt. "If you could track that Grimm down and pay it back, I'd give you a little boost."

"Like finding a needle in a haystack." Nayru said.

"Don't worry. I put a tracker in it before it bolted." Junior said.

"Can you sync the tracker signal to this?" Dain asked, handing Junior his Scroll.

"The hell is this?" Junior asked.

"It's a Scroll. It can take a signal from the CCT towers from up to 2000 miles, so we were told." Dain said.

"2000, eh? That's a big number. You are this little slate can do all that?" Junior asked.

"Sure of it." Dain nodded.

"Alright, whatever you say kid." Junior shrugged. He then punched a few numbers, and the Scroll started beeping. "There it is. Not very complicated, just keep an eye on that thing."

"Will do. We'll be back as soon as it gets done." Nayru said.

"But first, this is hardly appropriate weather to go adventuring in. Why don't you stay the night here? You can pay it off with the job." Junior said.

"You're really too kind." Ron smirked.

"A friend of Roar is a friend of mine. Here's the key." Junior said, tossing them a key.

"We appreciate it." Dain said.

[the next day, 1 mile from the Vale kingdom]

"Oh man, this thing is farther than I expected." Nayru sighed.

"Stay strong, we're nearly there." Dain said.

"Easy for you to say, you two are practically used to this kind of travel." Nayru said.

"Yeah? What of it?" Ron snarled back.

"Uh, nothing! Nothing!" Nayru quickly exclaimed.

"Thought so." Ron scoffed.

"He seems sensitive about that." Hyouga said.

"You think?" Nayru said.

"Oh. Well, I just thought-" Hyouga said awkwardly.

"I was being facetious, Lucia, don't worry about it." Nayru laughed. "But… Dain and Ron go way back. I don't even know half of what they've been through. I only met them when I was about 15. My family was forcing me to go to Atlas academy. It was torture. They forced me to follow all these orders. If I didn't, I was punished. And more so than the others were. They beat me, slapped my wrists- figuratively speaking. Long story short, they did everything in their power to make me submissive. And then I was bought by the Schnee Dust Company. You can't imagine half of what they did to me. They forced me into slave labor, secret slave labor. Not a single Lien came into my pocket. But then, when I almost gave up hope on my life, I found Dain and Ron. They took pity on me, and they saved me from the Schnees. But the scars… they never faded. So I took it upon myself to take some of their fortune. I robbed them blind, and freed some other slaves bought by them. I swear, once all our missions are said and done, I promise you the Schnees will pay for every man and woman they took as slaves. I'll make them pay for stealing their futures."

"Guess Dain isn't the only one with a dark side." Hyouga said.

"Hey, I don't trust a person without a dark side. People without a backstory end up bland and unexciting. Think of life like a story. If a character is boring, no one will want to be intrigued by their character at all, and they become this shell in the story. But if a character, like us, for example, is to stand up and fight their demons, the character suddenly becomes interesting. People look into their history, and eventually all is revealed." Nayru explained.

"So basically, we're the bad guys in this story." Hyouga said.

"We're the villains in the good eyes, but we have a good purpose. We want the academies to fall so that no one has to experience the same anger that we feel. We want a more civilized world, a world where selfishness and greed of any kind were to be considered a crime. At least, that's what Dain wants. I just do this so that the Schnees can suffer their so rightly deserved justice." Nayru said. "What about you? Why do you fight?"

"I… I, uh…" Hyouga stuttered.

"It's fine. You don't know why you fight, that's fine. You'll find your true reason to renew the world. And once you do, you will become more powerful than you can imagine." Nayru said.

"Are you sure?" Hyouga asked.

"Positive." Nayru nodded.

"Hold!" Dain said suddenly.

"What's up?" Ron asked.

"It's around here." Dain said. They then heard a different beeping. They then saw it. A chunk of dissolving Grimm flesh. In it, was the tracker.

"Oh, that's not good. It clawed out the tracker from its flesh." Ron said.

"No shit. We got a real problem now." Nayru said.

"And with the tracker no longer tracking anything, we're just gonna have to crack down on Grimm until we find one with a piece of it missing." Ron said.

"No. There's an easier way." Hyouga said.

"Oh yeah? Mind sharing it?" Ron asked.

"Sometimes, the answer is right in front of you." Hyouga said. She then pulled back a bush, and revealed a trail of black Grimm blood.

"Huh." Ron said. "Alright, so we don't have to work so much. Yay, go us."

They followed the blood trail, and soon heard growling. Not of a Beowolf, either. It was much more fierce, and it sounded like it was in pain.

"Found it." Ron smirked.

"Not exactly, we only hear it. So it must be near here." Nayru said. Just then, the Grimm leaped from a bush, and attacked. Ron blocked the attack, but it rolled the landing, and lunged again. It was faster than any Grimm they'd ever seen, and moved in the blink of an eye.

"Damn he's fast!" Dain cursed, blocking its strike, but the next one caught him, slamming him into a tree. When it slowed, they could see it in full detail. It wasn't a foot based Grimm. It hovered off the ground, with four long arms with claws sharper than any Beowolf. The face was covered by a mask, a bone white mask with demonic patterns, even more so than the other Grimm they've fought. It was even worse than the last Grimm they fought in Mistral.

"I've never seen a Grimm like that before! How does it even float?" Nayru said.

"No time to study it. We need to kill it now. It's one of the fastest, if not the fastest Grimm we've ever fought. And with those arms, who knows how much damage it can deal." Dain said.

Hyouga was shaking in her boots. The Grimm seemed familiar to her, but she didn't know why. But for whatever reason, the mere sight of it shook her to her core. "Hey, Hyouga, you alright?" Nayru asked.

"Y-y-yeah. Never better." Hyouga shivered.

"This monster. You know it." Nayru said.

Hyouga gritted her teeth. "Stay out of my mind."

"I wasn't-" Nayru said.

"I know this beast. It… it's something that could take on an entire Atlas fleet." Hyouga snarled. "And it could slay a team without hesitation. Like it did with my-"

"It killed your team?" Nayru asked.

"No. It killed my parents and their team. They never stood a chance." Hyouga snarled.

"Then we'll avenge them." Dain said.

"No! This is my fight!" Hyouga shouted, wielding Ryle and Hu, and rushing the monster, but when she slashed, it vanished, almost as if it were made of mist. But it was all but real, and it retaliated, slashing back at Hyouga and sending her down.

"Lucia, stop! This isn't like you!" Dain said.

"I don't care! My parents were the only ones who ever helped me, and this monster killed them without mercy! So why should I show any to it?" Hyouga said. Dain saw it. She wasn't acting rationally anymore. Whatever kindness was in her heart was filled with hatred and vengeance, a turmoil of malice driving her heart and leading her to absolute rage against this monster.

"You can't keep this up! Your rage and anger will only tear you apart!" Dain shouted.

"Then at least I'll die killing the monster who took everything away from me!" Hyouga yelled back. She rushed again, but the monster evaded, but she anticipated this, and blocked its counter. "STOP HIDING IN THE SHADOWS AND FIGHT ME!"

Her anger was disturbing to the team. None of them had even seen her angered. She was normally calm and collected, and at danger, brave, but sometimes scared. But now, they saw her engulfed in rage, fighting a monster she couldn't hope to beat alone. What was worse, was that she knew she would die fighting it. She knew she wasn't strong enough to fight it, and none of them were. At least, divided they weren't.

"Lucia, let us help you fight this monster!" Ron shouted.

"No! This is my fight and my fight alone!" Hyouga shouted.

"You'll be doing nothing alone! What have we done all this way? How have we survived? It's because we had each other! Take that away, and we're nothing more than cannon fodder!" Dain shouted.

"But I can! I can fight it!" Hyouga screamed.

"You can fight it all you want, but that won't stop it from tearing us apart! Your anger has blinded you from your true strength, and that makes you weak! If you let us help-" Dain shouted.

"I'm not weak! It's not my fault! I can do this! Don't push me away! I'm not a burden!" Hyouga shouted. Her slashing was furious and wild. The monster evaded each attack, because she was becoming predictable. It wasn't trying to kill her now. It was toying with her, wearing her down only for its victory to be all that more entertaining for it.

"You're not a burden! You're one of us! Don't push us away!" Dain shouted.

"We used to be a team! I never wanted to be this way! I never asked to be made! I NEVER ASKED TO BE BORN!" Hyouga screamed.

"She… her anger truly has blinded her. So much she's becoming delusional. We have to stop her." Nayru said. Ron nodded. Her next slash was weaker, and her breathing was heavy.

"I can… do this. I… I can prove I'm… not worthless. Please…. Please give me a chance." Hyouga said. The monster had had its fill now, and now readied its claws to strike her down. But Nayru tackled Hyouga before she could get herself killed, and Ron knocked the monster away.

"Hyouga, are you alright?" Nayru asked.

"Please. Please let me kill it. I need to… kill it." Hyouga gasped.

"No! Not like this! If you kill out of hatred and malice, you're no better than it is." Nayru shook her.

"You don't understand! It took all I had! It took my life away from me! It took all the family I had!" Hyouga shouted.

"Not all of it! You still have us! We're your family, and you're our family! If anything happened to you…" Nayru said. A tear fell from her face onto Hyouga's. "If you were to die in battle… I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. So please… stop pushing us aside."

Hyouga's anger faded, and she realized what she had done. "Nayru… Nayru, I'm sorry." Hyouga sobbed. They embraced in a hug, and Hyouga's rage flowed out in the form of tears, which flowed onto Nayru's shoulder.

"It's alright. You now see. That's all I need from you. Now, are you ready to stop acting on your own, and work together with us?" Nayru asked.

Hyouga wiped the tears from her face. "Yes." Hyouga sniffled.

"Good. Because we can't do this without your help. And you can't do this without us." Nayru said.

"Hey, hate to break the heart warming chatter, but we could also use your help!" Ron said, blocking another strike.

"You up to this?" Nayru asked.

Hyouga nodded. "Yes." Her face showed anger not at the beast, but at herself, for letting her emotions consume her. But it also showed compassion, regret for her actions, and regret for making her team worry.

"I'm glad you now see what's ahead. So, let's go." Nayru smirked. Hyouga nodded, putting a smile on her face. Her past fears and angers were now but a memory. She wielded her blades not for anger and malice, but for hope and joy, the emotions huntsmen were supposed to carry about them. And that was the first strike to inflict the monster, which would come to be known as DeathBlight. The DeathBlight rushed them, with blinding speeds, but Hyouga blocked the strike with ease, allowing Nayru to infuse Dain's Jigoku with fire dust, and with one slash it set the DeathBlight on fire, it screeching a pitch so high it would break any glass nearby. But that didn't hold the team back, as Ron could now see where it would attack. It spun back and tried to slash Ron, but he dodged the attack, and punched the DeathBlight with Fusion, trapping two of its arms in a block of ice.

"Take some time to cool off. Take it from me." Hyouga smirked, slashing Ryle and sending it through the DeathBlight. "That's for my parents." Hyouga pulled the blade out, and the DeathBlight let out an ear piercing screech. But Hyouga was unfazed. "And this is for the life you took from me." Hyouga notched and arrow, and sent it through the beast's head, and thus killed the beast know as DeathBlight.

"You did it, Lucia. I'm sure your parents would be proud if they were still here." Nayru said.

Hyouga smiled. "I'm sure their spirits are now at rest in Elysium."

"Well, one thing left to do. Let's tell Junior his mission is done." Dain said. The three nodded, and they went back.

[Later, Junior's]

"Hey, welcome back. I honestly didn't expect you guys to come back in one piece." Junior said.

"The DeathBlight is dead. Now for the reward you promised." Dain said.

"Straight to the chase, huh? Well, no need to tell me. I saw the smoke a mile out. Nicely done, kids. Oh, and I got this letter. It's addressed to Team DRHN." Junior said, handing them their reward and the letter. The sender was the last person they expected.

"Headmaster Ozpin? What does he want?" Dain wondered, opening the letter.

"Well? What's it say?" Ron asked.

"'Dear team DRHN, I got a notification from a retired worker of Mistral's that you would come visiting, and from his description, it sound like you would be quite the help. I invite you to attend Beacon Academy for the time you are here. Do not think this is necessary, though. Your choice is your own. But I promise you, should you join, I offer more than just knowledge. I offer a chance to serve and protect the citizens of tomorrow, and with it will come challenges and tests. Not just of word choices and questions, but challenges of strength, courage, wisdom, and power. An attribute selection all teams should carry into battle. I encourage you to join us. The future holds many trials, and I hope you do not have to strife throw them alone. Take your time to think about it.'" Dain read.

"Psh, yeah right. As if we'd join a Huntsman academy." Ron said.

"Yes." Dain said.

"Exactly- wait, yes to what?" Ron asked.

"I accept his invite." Dain said.

"Ha! Oh, that's a good one, Dain." Nayru laughed.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Dain asked.

Nayru sighed. "No."

"You know why we need this, right?" Dain asked.

"Yes. But that doesn't mean I'm happy with it." Nayru said.

"I don't care. It's not an option." Dain said.

"Wait wait wait wait, you're actually saying- like REALLY saying, with 100% sincerity, that we should go to Beacon- not just visit, ATTEND. Dain, I think we should rethink this. Have you forgotten the whole reason we formed a team?" Ron said.

"But we can't stay like this our whole time here. At Mistral, we at least could roam the streets, but that's because it's a less civilized place. Here in Vale, we could be caught at any second. So whether you agree with me or not, matters not. I am going to Beacon. But the question is, will you join me?" Dain asked.

The three looked at each other, and they thought the same thing. Dain, whether they liked it or not, was right. Vale isn't as big as Mistral. There's fewer places to hide, and Beacon was their only option at this point to have a roof over their heads.

"As long as we keep sight of our mission, I'll follow you to the ends of Remnant." Nayru said, raising to stand with Dain.

"You have my bow and swords. So long as I stand, I'll stay by your side, Dain." Hyouga said, standing next to Nayru.

"Ah, to hell with it. Might be a bit entertaining to see what Beacon has in store." Ron shrugged, standing with the others. "Now we're all standing. Happy now? A bunch of jackasses, standing in a circle."

"Only one thing left. Let's get to Beacon." Nayru said. They took off, toward their greatest challenge yet. But the question now was: what challenges would await, and more importantly, who would survive.

A/N

Waddup people, here's another chapter! It took some more planning to figure this one out. And I'm afraid the next one or two chapters won't have as much action in them, just to even things out and give the team a bit more character development. Because everyone loves some plot line sprinkled in here and there. But anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter, as much as I love making these chapters for you. And if you want, go ahead and try to spot all the references in this chapter.

P.S., forgot to say the disclaimer last time, but I do NOT own RWBY! RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth, and this is a non-profiting storyline I am making for it. Also, credit goes to the people of The Qrow's Nest Discord server for helping me figure out Hyouga's name and the title for this story.

P.S.S., if you haven't figured out, team DRHN is based on the dragons of Legend of Zelda, while Hyouga is based off Hylia, the god of LoZ. Anyway, that's all.


	3. Chapter 3: First Impressions

Chapter 3: First Impressions

All their lives, they thought nothing of the Vale branch of the academies, and thought it as just a learning place for over privileged huntsmen. The second they reached it, they realized they were wrong. It was noon, and the sun was directly over the main tower of Beacon, the emerald glass emitting a brilliant green sheen to the whole campus, illuminating every dark area of the whole place.

"You know, maybe coming here wasn't the worst of ideas." Ron laughed.

"No kidding. Just being here makes me feel good, almost like the whole place is enchanted to only make you feel happy feelings. I can live with this." Nayru said.

"Maybe we'll even makes some friends here." Hyouga said.

"With what we're doing here, I don't think we have room to make friends. I believe they would get in the way of our mission." Dain said.

"Jeez, stop being a downer. We're here, so why don't we have some fun? It's not like the whole world is filled with joy anymore. Even this far after the Great War." Nayru said.

"I understand that, but even still, wouldn't they just get in the way of our mission? It's not exactly the most socially acceptable mission, either. The odds of us finding someone like us here is rather low." Dain said.

"We did in Vacuo, Atlas, and Mistral. Why is Vale any different?" Ron asked.

"Because Vale isn't as discordant as the other three kingdoms. Sure, Faunus suppression is bad here, but Atlas and Mistral are far worse. As for Vacuo, the government hardly matters. And finding support there was hard enough as they all generally respect the academy. As for Menagerie, the Faunus are still building there, so to cause trouble there at this point would almost instantly get us either killed or thrown into the desert. And with the wildlife there, we wouldn't last a day, let alone five hours." Dain said.

"Now that you say that… yeah, he's right guys. Vale doesn't function much like the other kingdoms. Huntsmen are kind of free to do what they want, so long as they don't break any laws. So if we joined Beacon, so long as we attend classes, we should maintain a low profile." Nayru said.

"Alright, alright. You don't have to spell it out for me." Ron sighed.

"I'm actually kinda excited about this." Hyouga said.

"Why's that?" Dain asked.

"Because, I might make some new friends here, and we may learn a little bit more about working as a team, and working independently." Hyouga said.

"Actually, she's right. We're great as a team, but separated, we're incompetently weak. Beacon may actually be of help to us." Nayru said.

"As much as I hate to admit it, it's the truth. I guess coming here was a decent idea." Ron sighed.

They walked through campus, seeing how large it was. They saw how many people had dedicated their lives to being a huntsman, or huntress. And the sheer scale of the entire academy was unmatched, showing just what they were up against. "We're gonna need a real good plan." Nayru said.

"Yeah, I'll work on it. But for now, don't be suspicious. Just play along with the other students." Dain said. For some reason, they felt eyes following them. They looked everywhere, but they saw no one. At least, no one that was looking at them. But no matter what corner they turned, they still felt the feeling of being watched.

"I'm starting to feel uncomfortable." Hyouga said.

"Me too. I just can't shake this feeling." Nayru said.

"Just keep moving. No one has any reason to not trust us." Dain said.

"Aside from the fact that we're just now applying for this academy, despite it being the middle of September." Nayru said.

"I think that's normal enough." Ron said.

"Well, not a lot of people thinks the same. Some think Faunus should have equal right to humans, and some think the opposite." Nayru said. "Some say that all Faunus should stay in Menagerie."

Hyouga scoffed at that sentence. "Faunus shouldn't be isolated. They deserve to join us in unity, and be able to attend the huntsmen academies. Just look at Atlas. They would hardly let in a wolf Faunus with an irregular tooth."

"That's why I hate them so much. At least Vacuo and Vale are more understanding." Nayru said.

"I'm not an extremist. If the Faunus want to be on Menagerie, let them. If they want to protest against their lot in life, let them protest." Dain said.

"I'm no extremist either, but I still want to help the Faunus have a better life." Nayru said.

"Faunus, humans… realistically, what's the difference?" Ron said.

They walked more in silence, eventually making it to the main square. From where they stood, they could see all the towers of Beacon align with the CCT Tower, with it shining like a light tower.

Dain whistled. "Doesn't matter if you hate the academies or not, it's still a sight."

"Is the top floor Headmaster Ozpin's office?" Hyouga asked.

"Must be. Who else would have an amazing view like that?" Nayru said.

"We should go up there, then." Dain said. They all then headed to the tower, Dain pressing the buzzer.

"Identification, please." A woman said.

"This is Dain Ral of team DRHN. Headmaster Ozpin sent us?" Dain said.

"I will verify. Please wait a moment." The woman said. They waited in silence for a minute or two before the woman returned. "You have access to the top floor. Please hurry, Ozpin has many things to attend to."

"Well, she's pushy." Nayru grumbled. They walked in the elevator and went up. Soon, they were in Ozpin's office.

"I assume you are team DRHN?" Ozpin asked.

"Yes, sir. It's a pleasure to meet you." Dain bowed, as did the rest of his team.

"Pleasure's all mine. I did some research on you all before I invited you. You all appear to be from different kingdoms. That is an uncommon thing to see from a team of huntsmen." Ozpin said.

"We traveled a lot. Hyouga was the last to join." Nayru said.

"And she is from Mistral, correct? From my records, it seems you do not have a good reputation over there." Ozpin said. Hyouga shuffled nervously. "Do not worry, I'm not their headmaster. But please, do take a seat." Ozpin said. There were four chairs, which they happily took.

"So… why did you invite us of all people to join?" Dain asked.

"To be honest, I was a bit hesitant on letting you join. I saw in your team an unwillingness to cooperate with those you do not particularly like. I also sensed in you a great pain, and that pain will only grow if you let it. But through all the bad, I saw something good." Ozpin said.

"Which is?" Nayru asked.

"I saw potential. Potential in all of you to become greater than you are now. It's an aspect I see in every team that graduates from my academy, whether they be human or Faunus, from this kingdom or from another. And the teachers here have that same vision, I assure you." Ozpin said.

"I see. And what potential to you see in us, may I ask?" Dain asked.

"Well, that's something we'll have to see. I'm not sure what will be brought in the future, but I know that your time here will change many of your aspects. Perhaps it might change your entire view of the world of Remnant, for better or for worse." Ozpin said.

'I hope you can do so, Oz.' Dain thought.

"Is there anything else you would like to ask?" Ozpin asked.

Hyouga raised her hand. "Do you help students find their semblance?"

Ozpin seemed struck by that question. "Why, I had thought Mistral had helped you with that."

"That's what the records say. But in truth, they lie about it. They try to cover up their most embarrassing mistakes, and one is that they couldn't figure out the semblance of a simple girl. So tell me, Headmaster, will you help Hyouga? Or will you abandon her like everyone she's ever met in Haven? Because if you don't help her, we may as well move on." Nayru said.

Ozpin nodded. "I had no idea that Mistral could not find her semblance. But if that is the case, I will provide special training for Hyouga, meant for those who struggle with aura and semblance."

"Thank you. She's probably the most innocent of all of us." Nayru said.

"Well then, if no more questions are left, I should discuss the terms of you being here. You are still allowed to act freely as a team, but you must attend classes regularly. We shall provide you with the necessary textbooks and materials required." Ozpin said.

"Sounds fine." Ron said.

"And, should anything come up, regarding kingdom defense or the likes, we expect full cooperation." Ozpin said.

"Will do." Dain nodded. Then he remembered one thing from a while back. "One last thing from me." Dain pulled out the Scroll from his pocket.

"So this is the slate that Vash mentioned." Ozpin mused.

"You know Vash?" Dain asked.

"Indeed. He was the one who did half of the wiring around here, along with the rest of his team. Which reminds me, how are they?" Ozpin asked. This left an awkward atmosphere for the team.

"Um… they, uh…" Nayru stuttered.

"Most of them were killed by a beast of a Grimm. Vash escaped with losing an arm." Dain said.

"We avenged them, and Vash rewarded us with free transport to Vale." Hyouga said.

"I see. I am sorry to hear this news." Ozpin said.

"But before we left, he said he wished for these Scrolls to be a common day item in the future." Dain said.

"And I'm sure he will live to see such a time, as I hope you do to." Ozpin said.

"Uh… thanks." Ron said.

"Anyway, I have already contacted the staff here to give you a room. You'll find your supplies in there, along with uniforms tomorrow. I hope you enjoy your time at Beacon." Ozpin said. They all shook hands and left. "Oh, and one last thing."

"What's up?" Dain asked.

"I request your Scroll for a while. I have some superiors that may wish to improve that device." Ozpin said. Dain nodded and handed Ozpin his Scroll. "Thank you. You're free to go now."

[later that day]

The team… was lost, once again. This time, they navigated through the halls of the dorms, trying to find theirs.

"I'm telling you, we're in the wrong building! We're room 110, and these numbers go up to 400!" Nayru said.

"Maybe it's on the ground floor." Ron said.

"We ARE on the ground floor!" Nayru shouted. "For God's sake, we should just ask for directions!"

"You know what would've been useful? Taking the pamphlet with a map of the whole campus when we got off the damn ship!" Dain said.

"How was I supposed to know this place was this huge?" Nayru said.

"Because we saw it from above, that's how!" Dain said.

"I could hardly catch a glimpse! Did you see how many people were crowded around the window?" Nayru said.

"I remember exactly what you said! You said that we should be absolutely fine without a map, and now look at the mess we're in!" Ron said.

"Wait. Where did Hyouga go?" Nayru asked. They looked around, and true enough, Hyouga was missing.

"The hell? I thought she was right behind us." Dain said.

"Brilliant. Now we're lost and have no idea where Hyouga is." Ron grunted.

"I'm right here." Hyouga said, coming from seemingly nowhere. "And I found out where our dorm is."

"How did you…" Nayru asked.

"I asked for directions. Something you guys only just thought of." Hyouga said. "And conveniently, I found the same woman who helped us find that hotel."

"Wait, she's here? Huh. Guess it is a small world." Dain said.

"She also told us to meet her in the library once we got done with everything." Hyouga said.

"The library? What for?" Ron asked.

"I dunno. She didn't say." Hyouga shrugged.

The three exchanged the same look. "This could be a trap, guys. What if they know?" Dain said.

"I doubt it. We hardly made an impression here." Ron said.

"Aside from saying all this aloud." Nayru said.

"Well… okay, that's one thing." Ron said.

"We should probably be more careful. We don't want to come off as suspicious." Nayru said.

"The woman- Summer, she didn't seem to know about us, aside from our first encounter." Hyouga said.

"You have been known to be unusually trusting, but… well, we can't be sure until we see for ourselves." Nayru said.

"But first, we need to settle in." Dain said. They all agreed, and followed Hyouga, since she knew where the dorm was. After they unpacked and settled in, they headed to the Library. But they only saw people either working on computers or people reading. None of them looked like Summer, though. "She said to be here, right?"

"Maybe we took too much time, and she lost patience." Nayru said.

"Or maybe you aren't so observant." They heard. They turned to see Summer sitting at a table. "Please, take a seat."

They complied. "So, why did you want us to come here?" Dain asked.

"It's simple. You guys weren't here any other years. I should know, since I'm a senior here. And you definitely aren't freshmen. So that means…" Summer said, Dain slowly reaching for Jigoku. "You guys must be transfers!"

"Uh… what?" Dain said.

"Well, the conclusion is clear. You guys said you came from Mistral, right?" Summer said.

"Well, I did." Hyouga said.

"Oh, so you guys are a combination of every kingdom or something?" Summer asked.

"I… guess. But how did you get to the conclusion that we were transfers?" Dain asked.

"Simple. If you guys came from Mistral, and you just got here yesterday, then it must mean you guys transferred from Haven to Beacon." Summer said. "Which means, as a senior, I'm gonna have to test your skills in battle."

"Wait, now in here, right?" Nayru said.

"Oh yes, in here! I challenge you… to a battle of Huntsmen Gi!" Summer said.

"Huntsmen what?" Dain asked.

"I accept your challenge!" Nayru said.

"Hold on, what's going on?" Ron asked.

"Don't worry guys." Nayru smirked as she pulled out a card deck. "She's no match for me."

"Oh, I see you're a collector yourself! Well then…" Summer smirked. They slammed their decks on the table.

"LET'S DUEL!" They both said at the same time.

"Seniority rules, I go first." Summer said, drawing a card from her deck. "I summon Scrap Beowolf!" Summer said, putting down a card of a Beowolf with iron beams coming out of it instead of bones. "Now I put one card face down! Your move."

"Don't mind if I do." Nayru said, drawing a card. "And from my hand, I summon Atlesian Knight C328!" She laid down a card of an Atlesian Knight. "And with that, I lay two cards face down and end my turn."

"Interesting play. And it seems your monster is more powerful than mine. Perfect." Summer smirked. "I draw! And I play my spell card, Beowolf Pack! With this card, if I have a Beowolf type monster on the field that has less attack points than your monster, it gains an additional 1500 attack points!"

"With Scrap Beowolf, that would bring it to 2000 attack points!" Nayru exclaimed.

"And your Atlesian Knight only has 1000, so say goodbye to it!" Summer said.

"That's impressive, but I activate my trap card!" Nayru flipped over her left face down. "Reinforcement Defense! With this, if your monster has twice the amount of attack points as mine, it cancels your attack entirely! Which means my Atlesian Knight isn't going anywhere!"

"But Reinforcement Defense doesn't entirely cancel out the damage, which means you still take a thousand points of damage!" Summer said. Nayru grunted as she knew she was right. She then put away the trap card. "And I think I'll end my turn with a facedown."

"Excellent. My turn." Nayru drew. "And I summon Atlesian Prototype to the field! And next, I summon Synthetic Tuner!"

"Oh no! With that combination..!" Summer exclaimed.

"That's right! You know what's coming next! I tune my Synthetic Tuner with Atlesian Prototype and Atlesian Knight C328 to summon my personal favorite, Atlesian Dust Warrior!" Nayru exclaimed.

"No way! I've never even seen that card in person! I thought it was a myth!" Summer exclaimed.

"Well think again! Because this myth is going to obliterate your Scrap Beowolf!" Nayru said.

"Not so fast! I activate my trap card, Dark Hack! With a roll of my dice, I can determine it's power! If I roll a 7 or higher, your Atlesian Dust Warrior's attack is negated entirely!" Summer said.

"But if you roll a 6 or lower, then the Dark Hack fails, and my attack proceeds as normal!" Nayru said. Now a crowd was gathering at the table. Which left Hyouga, Ron, and Dain even more confused.

"How is a card game this interesting to these people?" Dain asked.

"Are you kidding?" One of the students said. "Summer is the champion of this game! On school record, she hasn't lost once!"

"Guess we'll see." Ron shrugged.

Summer then rolled a ten sided die, and everyone waited on fated breath for the die to stop. And when it did, the crowd broke into cheers, as the number was 7.

"Awesome! I now negate your Atlesian Dust Warrior's attack entirely!" Summer exclaimed.

Nayru gritted her teeth. "Fine then. I end my turn."

"I draw!" Summer said. "And I summon onto the field Junk Nevermore!" The card she played depicted a rusty mechanical Nevermore. "And with him, I summon my favorite tuner, Heap Creep!" Summer then put down a card of a metallic Creep. "And so I tune my Heap Creep with Junk Nevermore to synchro summon Scrap Grimm Knight!" The card she now placed down was a tall Knight with pieces of scrap for armor while having the same black skin of a Grimm. "And since my Scrap Grimm Knight has more attack points than your Atlesian Dust Warrior, I think I'll put this card back into myths!" Summer knew she had Nayru cornered. But Nayru let out a grin. "Why are you smiling?"

"This is why. I activate my facedown, Cold Winter! With this, if you have no mechanical based monsters on your field, I can destroy a monster of my choice. And I think that your Scrap Grimm Warrior is more of a threat, so I'll go ahead and send him to the graveyard!" Nayru said.

The crowd started going crazy, as Summer sent her card to the side. "Well anticipated, I'll give you that. With that, I end my turn."

"My move! And I think I'll start this round with a facedown! Next, I play my spell card, Dust Claymore. If I have a Dust based monster on my field, I can give it a boost of 500 attack points, packing my Atlesian Dust Warrior with a grand total of 3500 attack points! Sorry, but your Scrap Beowolf won't be enough to save you now!" Nayru said.

This left Summer with no monsters and 500 life points below Nayru. "I see you've played this before."

"You bet. I end my turn now." Nayru said.

"Very well then." Summer said, drawing from her deck. 'This is bad. She's gotten me cornered. But so long as my trap card takes affect next turn, I should be fine. But with Atlesian Dust Warrior with such high attack points, I gotta get Scrap Grimm Knight back, or else I'm finished.' Summer thought. "I play my field spell, Amity Coliseum. With this spell in effect, any Knight based monsters get an extra thousand attack points."

"What good'll that do, with none of us having any Knight based monsters?" Nayru asked.

"You'll see. I play a facedown and end my turn." Summer said.

"No summons? Well, I guess this will make a swift win for me. Atlesian Dust Warrior will now end this!" Nayru said.

"Not so fast! I play my facedown, Holy Revival. With this card, if you deal out an attack that would take out all my life points, I get to negate your attack entirely, as well as special summon a monster in my graveyard. So I get to summon back Scrap Grimm Knight!" Summer said, placing the card back on the playing field.

"Yeah! That's her trump card! Can't tell you how many times she got me with that!" One of the students exclaimed.

"And with the Amity Coliseum field spell, I gain an extra thousand attack points." Summer said.

"But that's still not enough to defeat my Atlesian Dust Warrior." Nayru smirked. "But sadly, my monster can't attack twice in one turn, so I play a facedown and end my turn."

"Then allow me to end this! Because I use my spell card, Iron Gauntlet! With this, if my monsters have lower points than your highest level monster, then I get to give my strongest monster a bonus thousand attack points! And that puts my 500 attack points more than you. And now I can finally obliterate your Atlesian Dust Warrior!"

"Oh no! With that kind of power, I'm done for!" Nayru said, but then let off a smirk. "That woman of be, if I didn't activate my trap card!" The picture on the card told Summer everything. "I bet you know what this is. This is Grimm Dragon Strike!"

"No way!"

"Oh yes. With this card activated, if you have any Grimm type monsters on the field, and they so happen to attack my monster, I can negate the attack entirely!" Nayru said.

"No!" Summer exclaimed.

"And it gets better! Not only does it negate it, but I can hurl the attack right back at you, and with a nice 4000 attack points, I call this checkmate!" Nayru said. And that was the game. The crowd went crazy, with Summer head down in defeat.

"How on Remnant did you comprehend my amazing strategy?" Summer asked.

"I'll be completely honest, your attacks were predictable. And I know just from looking at your deck that you had a lower class set up. The Scrap Grimm Knight was the giveaway." Nayru said.

"Ha. You got me, I went easy on you. But catch me with my real deck, and I guarantee that you won't be walking away victorious." Summer said.

"I can tell. You showed a lot more than I anticipated with such a deck. To be honest, I'm impressed you could pull out so much from such a weak deck." Nayru said.

"No deck is a weak deck in my book. A deck is like a team, it has potential in one way or another. At least, that's how I view it." Summer said.

"I see. Such a view is bound to make a sweet victory in every battle." Nayru said. "Whether it be in Huntsmen Gi or in real combat."

"Well, you still beat the champ, so I guess now you're the new Huntsmen Gi champion of Beacon." Summer smiled.

"Well, that's one way to make a first impression." Dain laughed.

"Probably should've told you that I have an unbeaten streak as well." Nayru said.

"Really? How long of a streak?" Summer asked.

"Thirty games in a row." Nayru said.

"Thirty?! I only ever got to twenty-five!" Summer exclaimed.

"Maybe we can trade strategies sometime. Maybe we can make our own Huntsmen Gi team." Nayru said.

"That sounds great. Oh, but after you guys get more settled into Beacon, of course. Don't forget we have classes tomorrow." Summer said.

"Yeah, sure." Nayru nodded.

"And after that, I can properly give you a tour of all the main facilities of Beacon, just so you can have some bearings." Summer said.

That was just what they needed to hear. "That would be amazing. Thank you so much." Dain said without hesitation. 'This is starting great! Not only are we already showing our strength in strategy, but we're also going to get a good layout of the campus. I honestly expected this to be much harder.' Dain thought.

"I'll be sure to remember tomorrow. Oh, and before I go…" Summer said as she got up. "Welcome to Beacon."

A/N

I hope you all liked that Yugioh segment. It took a bit of planning to get right, so I hope you enjoyed. But anyway, if you have anything you want to say about this chapter or chapters in the future, please leave a review or PM me for exclusive ideas for the story, and I hope to update more in the future.


	4. Chapter 4: Renovating

Chapter 4: Renovating

"Reval!" Hyouga exclaimed suddenly, jerking awake. Sweat poured from her face as her eyes were wide with terror. But she found herself back in her dorm, safe and sound. Her breathing slowed as she realized the others were gone. She got out of bed and clothed herself, heading out to hear them not too far. She followed their voices, and found them at the lobby of the dorms, conversing. Dain was the first to see her.

"Hey, there she is! Come on over, Lucia!" Dain said, waving her over. She sat across from them, her dream still bothering her.

"What's wrong, sleepy head?" Nayru asked.

"I... um..." Hyouga muttered. She shuffled in her chair nervously.

"If you don't want to share, that's fine." Nayru said.

"No, it's fine. I just had a strange dream." Hyouga said.

"Eh, fair enough. Anyway, you'll want to hear this." Dain said.

"Anything good?" Hyouga asked, the statement stopping her impulsive movement.

"You bet! We got a huge lead in our mission! Guess what we found out today!" Ron said, excited like a child on Christmas morning.

"Whatever it is, we may want to wait for when we're... cough, cough, not in public." Nayru said, lowering to a whisper as a team walked past them.

"Oh, right. Sorry, just so ecstatic!" Ron was practically giggling with glee.

"I've never seen you like this, Ron. This must be pretty good." Hyouga said. His mood definitely brightened her day.

"You bet your feathers it is! When Dain told me, hell, coffee could never wake me up this good!" Ron laughed. He almost fell over in his chair from joy, had Dain not stopped him.

"Uh, anyone else a bit scared by the new Ron?" Hyouga asked, her joy rapidly fading.

"Very." Nayru said. She then glared at Ron. "And Ron?"

"Uh, Yeah?" Ron said.

"I thought we agreed to never address the Goliath in the room." Nayru motioned to Hyouga.

"Oh, shit. Sorry, Hyouga. Didn't mean to..." Ron said.

"It's alright. I know you're excited about this, so I'll let it slide." Hyouga said, waving him off.

"Let what slide?" They heard, Summer pressing on Hyouga's shoulders.

"Can you stop coming out of nowhere?" Dain said.

"Why?" Summer asked innocently.

"Because someday you'll give someone a heart attack." Dain answered.

"Fair enough. Oh! And Professor Glynda told me to give you these!" Summer said, handing the team four papers.

"Aaaand these are?" Nayru asked as she skimmed over the paper.

"Your schedules, of course! Can't go about campus blindly without knowing your classes!" Summer said.

"Right. I assume she didn't also give you a map of the campus for us as well, right?" Nayru said. Summer raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? Didn't you guys get the pamphlet?" Summer asked.

"I freaking told you guys to pick at least ONE up!" Dain shouted.

"Hey, don't be mad at me! It was Nayru that said we didn't need one, and that it was 'part of the fun of the adventure'!" Ron retaliated.

"Oh, so now it's my fault, huh?" Nayru said. Then the argument began, almost a war between the two. Whether it was because they were from kingdoms that didn't see eye to eye or if they just got on each others' nerves often, their arguing was as fierce as the Great War.

As they argued, Summer leaned over to Hyouga. "Is... this normal for them?" Summer asked.

"Unfortunately." Hyouga sighed. "Just give them some room, they'll run out of steam in a few minutes."

"I'll keep that in mind." Summer said. A vase flew past her. "That doesn't seem like regular arguing. Kinda reminds me of Qrow and Raven."

"Who and who?" Hyouga asked.

"Oh, they're my other teammates. Well, along with Taiyang, of course. And we're team STRQ." Summer said. She seemed to glide over Taiyang's name a bit casually, as if hiding something.

"I'd like to meet them sometime." Hyouga said.

"Oh, you should. Though, be careful what you say. Qrow and Raven are not exactly... gentle when they argue." Summer said. She shuddered, as if remembering one of said arguments.

"By the way Summer, didn't you promise a tour of the campus today?" Dain asked.

"Oh yeah. About that, I won't be able to show you until after classes. Tight schedules, you know." Summer said sadly. The statement was the diploma that ended Nayru's and Ron's argument.

"That's a shame. Can you at least tell us where first period is?" Dain asked.

"Yeah, sure. Who's your first teacher?" Summer asked.

"Uh… Professor Port?" Nayru said as she glanced over the papers.

"Oh yeah, him. He's fairly close to the tower. You just go to the CCT Tower and make a left facing it. You should find it at the second building." Summer said.

"CCT Tower, second building to the left. Gotcha." Dain repeated.

"He should also be able to tell you where your next classes are." Summer said.

"Just to tide us over until after classes." Nayru said, as if to confirm her plan.

"Exactly. Anyway, I should go. My team might wonder where I am." Summer said.

"Right. See ya later." Nayru said. They waved her goodbye as she left. "Should we go as well?"

"Nah, we got an hour still. Besides, Lucia hasn't eaten yet." Dain said.

After they all ate, they went to classes. Port seemed nice enough, but it was clear to the team that he was just a TA. They didn't ask many questions in class to make it easy on him. They may have wanted the schools to fall, but they weren't sadists.

But he sure didn't ignore the new students. A few minutes after classes started, he recognized the team. "You must be the new students old Oz told me about. Transfers, right?" Port said.

"Yeah. We're a, uh, traveling team. We started in Shade, then to Atlas, then Haven, And now here." Dain said.

"Oh hoh! A sightseeing team! Well, I'm sure you must have seen many battles on your journey." Port said.

"We've definitely seen some deadly Grimm." Nayru nodded.

"Like what kinds?" Port asked.

"Ever heard of a DeathBlight?" Hyouga asked, smirking a bit as she said it.

"You encountered one and lived?" Port exclaimed.

"And beat it in combat. Though, it wasn't easy. Maybe we can tell you the story later." Dain said. Some of the students seemed to prepare for a nap, thinking that Port would go into another one of his story times.

"I would certainly love to hear this story! Perhaps you can prove your combat experience to the class?" Port said.

"I… beg your pardon?" Nayru said.

"We often are allowed to bring in Grimm for educational purposes. Such as training firsthand." Port said.

"I'll do it." Hyouga said, standing up as she said it.

"You sure, Lucia?" Nayru asked, accidentally touching her back. Hyouga tensed at the contact.

"Y-Yeah. I'm sure." Hyouga said, suddenly wavering.

"Very well then! Get your battle gear ready." Port said. A few minutes later, Hyouga came back with Ryle and Hu, putting it in the longbow mode and notching an arrow. "Ready?" Port raised his axe. Hyouga pulled the arrow back as she nodded. Port cut the lock as a Beowolf charged out. She fired her arrow, slightly being taken by surprise. This caused her aim to be off, and only hitting it in the shoulder. It charged on, snapping the arrow. She detached the swords and blocked its strike. It snapped at her, slobber flying in her face.

"Lucia…" Nayru muttered with worry written all over her face. She almost raised to help her, but Dain stopped her.

"She can handle this. Let her be." Dain whispered. Nayru wanted to argue, but she didn't want to distract Hyouga. She sighed and sat back down.

Hyouga slashed away the Beowolf as it snarled at her. "Remember, never let it get an opening! The Grimm will always take the kill!" Port said. The Beowolf charged again, Hyouga stabbing Ryle into its palm, as it roared in pain. She slashed to behead it, but it caught the blade. It then took its other hand and swiped at her, knocking her away and making her let go of Ryle. It yanked the blade out and threw it at her. She dodged it, but it caught the back of her shirt, tearing it. She gasped in slight pain. She retrieved Ryle again, and fired an arrow into its eye. It was blinded on one side, allowing her to go to the right and behead it.

"Bravo! Bravo!" Port said. But Hyouga showed no pride. Instead, she showed fear as she knew her back was exposed now. She ran out quickly, before anyone could see. Dain, Ron, and Nayru all shared a concerned look as they went after Hyouga. They looked outside, but she wasn't there. They looked in the hallways, and found her around the corner near Port's room. She was curled up in the fetal position crying.

"Hyouga, are you alright?" Dain asked.

"No." Hyouga sniffed.

"I don't think anyone saw it." Nayru said.

"I know they did. I saw their faces." Hyouga wept.

"Hey, just because you're a Faunus doesn't mean they'll kick you out." Ron said.

"But I wanted to pass as human! Now everyone will know! Not everyone thinks Faunus equal to humans, and now… now…" Hyouga wept harder now.

"I mean, technically you're not a Faunus. The only proof is your back." Ron said. She jumped back, hiding the stumps of her wings.

"So what? You want me to forget I ever had wings? You want me to forget what happened in Mistral? This." Hyouga gestured to her back, where she showed the stumps of where her wings once were, evenly cut, a masterpiece a Grimm could never hope to accomplish. "Is my past. It's my entire existence! It's who I am, Ron! Is that what you do? Forget you were born into a drug cartel and shipped to Vacuo just so that your parents could have more money?" Hyouga snapped. She paused to breathe in her fit. "No. I can't forget it. My wings were taken from me. I can never get them back."

"Who cares about that?" Dain said. Hyouga looked up at him, her cheeks damp with tears. "That was in the past. You're one of us, and that's all that matters. Faunus or not."

"But… But…" Hyouga said.

"No buts! You are, and always will be family to us. No matter what comes around." Dain said. Hyouga sniffed, then wiped her tears away.

"Okay. I'm sorry." Hyouga said. Dain, along with the others, wrapped their arms around Hyouga.

"If anyone lays a finger on you because you're a Faunus, I'll break their jaws." Ron promised. Dain and Nayru both seconded that.

"Thank you guys." Hyouga said, wrapping her arms around them. In name, they were a team. But in heart, they were a family. This, they wouldn't forget even after death.

They got Hyouga dressed back in her uniform, and promised her that they'd fix the tear in the back of her shirt.

"And to cover the sewing, we'll get you a complimentary Team DRHN jacket. Made with tough armor, infused with Dust of your choice." Ron said.

"Wait, your jackets have Dust in them?" Hyouga asked.

"Yeah. Nayru's got Ice Dust, Dain has Fire Dust, and mine is Electric. Maybe we can make yours Gravity, so it can balance out and you can maybe master it so you can fly again." Ron said.

"Hey, that's actually a good idea." Hyouga said. "Yeah, let's go with that."

"Will do. I'll get on it ASAP." Dain said.

"We should have our own symbols too." Ron said.

"I do feel like our likenesses would be much more defined if we had our own symbols." Nayru agreed. "Mine can be a snowflake made of dragon teeth."

"I want a serpent with a lightning bolt as a horn." Ron stated.

"I'll make mine a large flame." Dain said. "What about you, Hyouga?"

"Maybe mine can be a pair of angelic wings." Hyouga said.

"Alright. I'll make the designs tonight." Dain said.

"Why do it yourself? It's not like you're the only designer here." Nayru said. "Not to mention that I was a tailor when I was captive, but only for a short while."

"I lived on my own for a long time. I had to take scraps of cloth and put it together in order to have even a decent shirt." Ron said.

"And this wasn't the first time a Grimm tore the back of my shirt." Hyouga said.

"Alright, I get it. Let's make this a joint effort." Dain sighed. Later that day, after Summer have them the whole rundown of the campus, they retired to their dorm and worked on designs of their symbols. The finish product, in their opinions, was fairly decent. They began to sew on the design of the symbols on their jackets, aside from Hyouga, who began making the base of her jacket. She planned to make it more of a dress than a jacket, or at least a robe. While the others had their jackets only go to their hips, hers would extend down her legs, almost like a trench coat. Her wings symbol would expand down the coat, looking like a real pair of wings. At first, she wasn't sure of the design, but it soon grew on to her.

"Oh, you know what'd be cool? If we made it so whenever we use the Dust in our coats, our symbols lit up with the color of the Dust!" Ron said.

"That's probably the coolest idea you've ever come up with." Nayru laughed. So they did it. They made their symbols infused with Dust of their types. They tested, and when it lit up, their backs illuminated the whole room. Nayru's light illuminated bright blue, serene as Solitas's mountain ranges as ice flew around her arms. Dain's back glowed with the scorching fire blazing on the Vacuo deserts as wings of fire sprouted from his back. Ron's back sparked and shined with the lightning of the Vale mountains as lightning wrapped around the three of them, making a circle of electricity. And Hyouga's coat levitated from the ground, as if gravity was nonexistent to the garment. She tried it on, and she levitated with it. The wings on the back glowed dark purple. But she frowned at the color.

"I'm sure there's a way to make it less bleak." Hyouga said as she went back to the ground.

"Yeah, of course. Here, let me see it." Dain said. He took the coat and placed it down to examine it. "Well, first, the armor isn't too tight on. First strike. And an easy solution is to just use some dye. For the color I mean, not the armor."

"Well, I didn't want it to be too tight of a fit." Hyouga said.

"Well, that's the point of it. If you slip out of it at a thousand feet in the air, what's gonna save you?" Dain said.

"Alright, fair point." Hyouga shrugged.

"So that's why we should put a strap on it. And with materials here being so cheap and so durable, we can get you a better holster for Ryle and Hu so that they don't slip out when you're flying." Dain added.

"I like it. Any other additions you'd suggest?" Hyouga asked.

"One more. Make the tails a bit longer. The look you're going for will be better with a bit of extra length. Maybe make it expandable for when you're flying." Dain said.

"So something like that Mr. Peculiar comic?" Hyouga asked.

"Exactly!" Dain said, snapping his fingers.

"It's like we're making cosplays." Hyouga laughed.

"Hey, gotta base our designs off something, right?" Ron said. Everyone laughed at the remark.

"We should get some rest. We did a lot of work today." Dain said. Everyone nodded.

"I just had a thought. We could've bargained Vash into making prosthetic wings for Hyouga." Ron said.

"Beg your pardon?" Nayru said.

"Well, he made a new arm for himself, right? He should be able to make a nice set of wings." Ron said.

"Ron… I don't think you know how prosthetic limbs work." Nayru sighed.

"Oh, when did you become an expert in the field?" Ron grunted.

"Guys! Some of us actually want to sleep." Dain growled.

"Fine." Nayru And Ron both sighed. They curled up, and slept.

[Meanwhile, Beacon Tower]

"So why should this affect their educational level?" Ozpin asked.

"Because she's a Faunus. It's a fact that over half of the Faunus population is associated with terrorism or riots. What if she starts a riot? Begins to cause problems?" The shaded figure said.

"If That happens, I will deal with it myself. Now back to your bunk, Qrow. I've had a long day." Ozpin said.

"But, Ozpin-" Qrow said.

"You're. Dismissed." Ozpin growled. Qrow backed up in fear. But he nodded, and left. Ozpin sighed. "I hope he changes his mind too. Not all Faunus are bad, I get it. And yet, I feel as if she has a power unknown to anyone, even herself." He paused. "It is entirely possible she is one. But we cannot be certain until she bring out that power. Until then, all we can do is bide our time." He paused again.

"Yes. I know she hasn't unlocked her semblance. That's why tomorrow, I'll initiate her special training." Ozpin said.

A/N

If you expected spoilers, you'd be disappointed. Just here to say that I appreciate those of you that follow this story. And if you'd like, leave a review on how I can improve this story for the better. Or maybe PM me for any plot twist or little things you'd want to see in this story. Later.


	5. Chapter 5: The Key of the Spirit

Chapter 5

The Key of the Spirit

They all awoke to the sound of a knocking on their door. Dain was the first to get up and open it. Behind the door was a man, about as tall as Dain, with messy black hair, a white buttoned shirt with two tails and a red torn tape and black dress pants. He looked as if he was ready for a funeral. But he wore no jewelry, except for a ring or two on his hand.

"Um… can I help you?" Dain asked, rubbing his hair down to hide his bed hair.

"Yeah. Ozpin wanted me to get you guys. Said something about 'special training'." The man said.

"Must be for Hyouga. About time he got that arranged." Nayru said.

"We should introduce ourselves. I'm-" Hyouga tried to say.

"Lucia Hyouga. Dain Ral. Nayru Lana. Ron Fare. Yeah, Oz told me your names." The man said.

"And you are?" Ron asked.

"Qrow. Any more questions?" Qrow asked.

The four looked at each other with the same look. This man clearly knew something about them. And he definitely had some beef with them at that.

"Good. Let's go." Qrow said sternly. They put on their clothes and followed Qrow. He didn't seem happy with them, to be sure. It felt like he took one glance from them and instantly hated them with his whole being. They hadn't felt such judgement in their life. Nor had they retaliated with such judgement to anyone or anything. They hated the academies, but that was because they had reasons for hating them. Qrow simply hated them for the sake of hating them.

But it mattered not, as they soon reached Ozpin's office. He turned in his chair to face them. The gears above swung around calmly as pendulums. The constant sound of a clock ticking was above them- tick tock, tick tock. They had to wonder how Ozpin worked with this constant noise, constant- tick tock, tick tock.

But Ozpin seemed unaffected by the noise, as he motioned them to sit, as Qrow left.

"I'm sure you know why I had you sent. And I apologize for bringing you in so early in the day." Ozpin said. His words were sincere.

"No worries. And, this wouldn't happen to be for the aforementioned and promised training for Hyouga, would it?" Nayru asked.

"It is. From now on, until she learns to unlock her semblance, she will take on special classes. This includes aura training and combat training." Ozpin explained. He took a sip of coffee as he let them think among themselves.

"And what else would this provide, if anything else?" Dain asked.

"A chance for her to prove herself." Ozpin said, a statement that strike the team with surprise. "I'll take it from your expressions that you do not know what I talk about. Many here do not particularly like you all. For whatever reasons they may be, whether the fact is that you're all from different kingdoms or that one of you is a Faunus, I cannot tell."

"How did you learn of such intelligence?" Dain asked.

"You told me just now." Ozpin said. Dain internally snarled at Ozpin's subtle sass. "That, and Qrow approached me last night, telling me that Hyouga was an eagle Faunus. Or, at least, a Faunus of a bird family. You know, it's very uncommon for a Faunus to be born of the birds, and with wings at that. I shall say it is a shame that such a gift was taken from you."

"You're not the one who should be sorry, sir. It should be the students in Haven." Hyouga said. She recalled the event. It gave a horrific chill up her spine.

"I know you suffered in your past. I know you have dark secrets you must hide. I will not push you to speak to me of those secrets. Instead, I want you to push those aside, and grow off of those experiences. This is the advice I give to every student, and it always gives them the 'skip in their step', so to speak. I know now you may not think this advice to be helpful, but in time, I hope you find it's meaning." Ozpin sipped his coffee as he breathed in, allowing them to take it in.

"So back to the topic at hand. What are the schedules for Lucia's training?" Dain asked.

"It will be after classes, so don't worry about your schedule changing too much." Ozpin said. Hyouga looked to the others for assurance.

"And you promise this 'special training' has bore fruit before?" Ron asked.

"I promise you it has. Though I will not lie to you, it is rigorous. More often than not, those that haven't unlocked their semblance at this point in time often have to go through tough trials in order to do so. Sometimes, it could be a simple thing such as not enough motivation, and other times, it could be something as dangerous as a near-death experience. And that's not over-exaggerating, I remember one student's heart stopped working during training. After they were revived, though, they could vanish from sight." Ozpin said. He sipped his coffee again.

The team was at a loss for words now. Any questions they had were answered. At least, regarding Hyouga's training. "Is there anything else we should know?" Dain asked finally.

Ozpin put down his mug. "Should anything else come up, I'll send for you." Ozpin said. "But for now, you're dismissed to go to classes. I'll set up her first session by tomorrow."

"Thank you, sir." They all said together. They then went to the elevator, and exited.

Ozpin sighed. "Think I could've said more?" Ozpin looked at the scroll that Dain gave in their first day. "Yes. It is quite bulky. But that's just Vash for you." Ozpin let out a slight chuckle. "I do think him an Merlot would've been good friends. I just thank God they never met." Ozpin paused. "Why do you think?" He paused again. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

As the team left the tower, they saw Qrow for a second, just before he turned the corner. Dain internally growled at Qrow's unstructured hatred toward them. But they didn't let it get to them, and continued to classes. Somehow, it seemed even more boring than yesterday. Ron nodded off more times than he could count, Dain struggled to keep his neck in one spot, Nayru, somehow, was easily staying awake. And Hyouga passed out within three minutes. When classes ended, they had to carry her back to the dorms.

"She always was a heavy sleeper." Dain sighed.

"Talk about heavy sleeper, she's also just plain heavy!" Ron grunted. But Hyouga, in her sleep, muttered a name.

"Reval…" Hyouga was still deep in sleep.

The others perked up at the name. "Who the hell..?" Ron wondered.

"Reval… why do I feel like I've heard that name before?" Nayru hummed. But she didn't linger on it for long, as they got to their dorm and placed Hyouga in bed. In the meanwhile, they talked about their plan.

"So… how are we gonna find this… thing?" Dain asked.

"Dunno. It's only a myth, so it might not even be real." Nayru said.

"Never hurts to see." Ron said with optimism.

"I feel like we should just find another, more sure way of completing our mission." Nayru said insistently.

"I kinda have to agree. We don't have forever to do this. For one, I'm not sure if the other plans are still reliable. And like Nayru said, we don't have forever to get this done." Dain said.

"I'm sure the dragon exists. We just have to keep looking." Ron said, this time with more assertion to his tone. Such a tone could make you believe such a creature existed.

"Alright, fine. We'll look in the Emerald Forest, but if we find nothing, we're abandoning the idea." Nayru said sternly.

"Fine, fine." Ron said. He was as sure of the creature existing as a child believing Santa is real.

The next few days were of little to note about. Aside from that Hyouga began her training. Though, through those days, no fruits of labor were to be harvested. The trainer even said that she was a rare case. And that the more difficult training had not even brought a spec of her semblance out. Hyouga herself even said that she feels nothing when she is training.

But they didn't give up. Even though the teachers said that if the trainer couldn't bring out her semblance, there's no point. Regardless of these opinions, they kept training.

But to no avail. As fruitless as talking to a brick wall, Hyouga's semblance could never be brought out by normal means.

Team STRQ tried to also help them, but it was all pointless. No matter who helped or who tried, her semblance was to be forever sealed away by doubt and misery. But one day, her training was scheduled, but she didn't come. She sat in her dorm, wallowing in shame.

"Come on, Lucia. Maybe this time it'll work." Nayru said.

"It won't. I know it. You said it a thousand times before, but nothing came of it." Hyouga said in grief.

"The only thing holding you back-" Dain tried to say.

"Is myself? Yeah, real inspirational. I'm sorry, but I've tried. Over, and over, and over again, but I have nothing to show for it." Hyouga said.

"You're beating yourself up. There's nothing to be ashamed of, you know. Not everyone on Remnant has a semblance." Ron said. Dain And Nayru stared at him.

"Not. Helping." Nayru snarled.

"Sorry." Ron said quickly.

"Then let's go." Dain said.

"I'm not going to trainin-" Hyouga said.

"No, let's go. For a walk. Take our minds off things for a while." Dain said. "You've focused on nothing but your semblance for the past two weeks. I think you've earned a break."

Hyouga sighed. "Alright." They then went to Vale to walk, and relax. They sat down for coffee, and the relaxation settled into their hearts. Even Hyouga's spirits began to rise up again. She smiled again for the first time in a week. Her smile brought warmth to the team, and it seem to make the cloud go away. The sun now shone brightly on the team, the warmth of it making the cold October air seem nonexistent. And Hyouga began to feel a warm sensation, something that made all the bad feelings of the world vanish.

Then, Dain widened his eyes. "Guys, look!" He exclaimed. Nayru and Ron looked, and the gasped in shock.

"Hyouga, how are you doing that?!" Ron said in surprise. Hyouga was confused, then looked down. She saw what they were shocked at. Her cup of coffee was completely surrounded in a white sphere.

Hyouga jumped in surprise at the orb, and then it vanished.

"Is that… your semblance?" Nayru asked. "Wait, think of something nice." Hyouga tried that. She thought of the first time she met the others. And in her palm was a white light. She put her hand on the table, and instantly they were all surrounded in the bright white orb, as if they were suddenly in a snow globe.

"Wow. This is your semblance?" Dain said in awe.

"Wait, we have to test this." Nayru said. Hyouga nodded, and when she lifted her hand, the orb faded. They went to Beacon, where Hyouga made another bubble. Dain drew Jigoku and slashed the bubble. His blade bounced right off of the bubble, and it didn't even leave a mark on it. Nor did it even move at all.

"Hyouga, I think you can make an impenetrable shield. That is so badass." Nayru said.

"And it only happens when I think of happy thoughts. No wonder why I couldn't do it in training. I was ever only thinking of negative thoughts." Hyouga said.

"I'll tell you what, though. That shield doesn't like solid Dust blades." Dain said. He massaged his arms, since the recoil did a number on his muscles.

"So now, Hyouga can shoot arrows, fly, and make shields. Dude, she'll be unstoppable in battle!" Ron laughed.

"Wait." Hyouga said. She put the light in her hand, and snapped her fingers. The shield then surrounded Dain.

"Woah! What'd you do?" Dain asked.

"It looks like she put the shield around you. Wait, hold on. Also, if this doesn't work, sorry in advance." Nayru said.

"Sorry for what?" Dain asked. Nayru then shot a bolt of ice at Dain. But when it made contact, it shattered, no harm done to Dain.

"Just as I thought. You're completely invincible." Nayru said.

"That's fucking cool." Ron said.

Hyouga then took the shield from Dain. "But, there's one thing I cannot do with it." Hyouga said. She pressed her hand with the light ball on herself, but it did nothing. "I cannot protect myself with it. I can only protect others."

"Well, beggars can't be choosers, I guess." Ron shrugged.

"Ah, I'm so happy we finally found it, Lucia!" Nayru cheered. She practically tackled Hyouga in a hug.

"This should make a huge difference in combat." Dain smiled. But he knew that if Hyouga turned now, she'd be a formidable foe. So he had to be cautious of their actions. Even Ron And Nayru could prove to be fearsome combatants. And he knew discordance in the team would ensue their defeat in battle. This he would have to remember if he were to see his plans carried through.

Later that day, they received a task from one of the staff to check the Emerald Forest.

"What for?" Dain asked. "Is there some sort of threat?"

"In a way, Yes. I believe a Grimm attack could be inevitable, and I need solid proof of one before I can ask for night watches. That's where you come in. Common proof of an incoming Grimm attack is footprints or broken trees. That, or an abundance of Grimm life forms. Find one of those, and it'll probably be enough for a night watch." The teacher said.

"Will do. We'll get on it right away." Nayru said before anyone could say otherwise. They almost questioned her before she dragged them all away.

"What are you doing, Nayru?" Ron asked.

"I'm fulfilling your wish, Ron. You wanted to check out Emerald Forest without being suspicious, now we're doing it. Thank me later." Nayru said with a bit of snark. Ron scoffed.

"Smartass." Ron growled.

They gathered their gear as they went to the forest. Surely enough, Grimm were manifesting in the Emerald Forest like there's no tomorrow. But they didn't go back yet. They had plenty of time, and they intended to use it to the fullest. But they looked everywhere, but to no avail.

"Let's just go back, dammit. Face it, the myth isn't real." Dain said.

"No. I'm gonna find that dragon if it kills me." Ron snarled.

"Ron, for God's sake, we've looked everywhere! There's nowhere else TO look!" Nayru shouted.

"What about this cave?" Ron said. They turned to see a giant cave, or more like a crater, with a small pathway at the bottom.

"Well, this isn't creepy at all." Dain said sarcastically.

"No one ever did anything without taking any risks." Ron said as he jumped down. They all followed him, coming to an end to the cave. But the end was white as bone. "Yes, this is it." Ron was ecstatic. He had Dain make a fire for light. The White was revealed to be bone, and it was huge. It didn't seem sharp enough to be a claw, but it was longer than it was wide. "This has to be a backbone."

"An exterior backbone. What the hell is this creature?" Nayru wondered.

Ron began with a small laugh, but then rose to a crazed laugh. "This is wonderful! Don't you see? The legend is REAL! It's goddamned real!" Ron exclaimed. He was practically bouncing off the walls. "With this, our life long plan can commence! I never thought it would ever come!"

"No!" Dain shouted. Ron stopped look at Dain like he was crazy.

"I beg your pardon?" Ron asked.

"Sorry, I said 'no'. Not today." Dain said.

"But why? Everything's here!" Ron exclaimed.

"Yes, It is. But the school's already aware and cautious of a Grimm attack. If we were to go now, it would ruin everything." Dain said. He then put a hand on Ron's shoulder. "We get one shot at everything, and it has to be perfect."

"Oh, I get it. You've fallen for Summer. You don't want her to be caught in it." Ron said.

"What? No, that's not it! I'm saying that we need to wait for the right time!" Dain said.

"I have to agree with Dain. Now would be a bad time for us to unleash this monster. And, if the legends are true, this thing is half blind. We have to make sure it has the advantage in the battle." Nayru said.

Ron sighed. "Alright, fine. Guess I got ahead of myself."

"Good. Now then, we should get back before they get suspicious." Nayru said. They then left the crater, and went back to Beacon. They reported the hints to the attack, and retired to their dorm. But as everyone fell asleep, Hyouga was still awake. She quietly left, and went to the library.

"The Rise and Fall of the Brimbreather." Hyouga muttered. She opened the book. "Long ago, there was only Grimm. Then one day, fire rose from the ground. And from the fire rose the beast, now known as The Brimbreather. It brought with it Calamity and ruin, nearly destroying all life on Remnant." She paused to breathe. The sight of the beast was intimidating, even for a drawing. By calculations, it was as long as a mountain was high, with arms connected to wings with one huge claw, and a tail that looked like a harpoon. It's feet were large, able to crush a small house entirely. The scales were an orange-brown shade, while the eyes were the same color as a raging fire. "But one hero arose from the great calamity, a hero known as Grendel. He wielded a sword said to have been forged in the light of the shattered moon. It was said to have shimmered with the moon's rays, able to slice through any creature of darkness." She examined the picture of the sword. It was a silver blade, with a hilt with designs completely confusing.

The grip was curled and wrapped, as if vines were growing down from it. The hand guard extended out like an angel's wings. And in the center, where the blade and hilt connected, was a white gem, pure as snow.

She blinked as she continued reading. "With the Moon's wrath in hand, and with the strength of four huntsmen of each kingdom, they brought the Brimbreather to the ground. And the hero stabbed the sword into the demon's eye. The Brimbreather learned that day that man would never go down without a fight. And it died with that truth. When the hero returned, he and the four huntsmen were treated as saviors."

Hyouga closed the book, starring off into nothing. She saw the dragon was real.

But was the sword real too? Was it possible for men to bring the power of the moon into one blade? And what was the gem? All questions she would answer soon enough. She put the book back in the shelf and walked back to her dorm, where she would evidently oversleep.


	6. Chapter 6: Protecting Life

Chapter 6

Protecting Life

Weeks passed after the Brimbreather's discovery, and each day seemed more hectic than the last. Though they had to admit that Hyouga was starting to get good at summoning shields. She smiled more often, and that was a good thing, as her semblance was based on her emotions. Happy and pure thoughts allowed her to summon shields for others, but as they learned, negative and impure emotions not only attracted Grimm, but also hindered her, not just disabling her ability to summon shields, but also weakening her.

She depended on her emotions to be happy when she needed them to be. Otherwise, her downfall would be certain. But with her team, it wouldn't mean the end in battle.

They began to learn how to combine the Dust in their coats to strengthen their weapons. Dain could enhance the sharpness of Jigoku by lighting it on fire, Nayru could combine other Dust types through her weapon, Kōri Kibo, with the ice Dust in her coat, and Ron learned to add electricity with Fusion and Dread, making a powerful combination of either electricity and ice or electricity and fire.

And often times, they went out on missions to keep the people safe, simply to make sure that they remain inconspicuous. They also helped out the police a bit by hunting down crime. They even began to gain a reputation among the streets of Vale. They even gained a name, foreign from their team name, known as the Dragon of Vale. Dain was the breath of the dragon, Nayru was the dragon's mind, Ron was the dragon's claws, and Hyouga was the wings. White Fang riots turned peaceful all of a sudden when they showed up, as they seemed intimidated by their might.

Together, they had the strength of a dragon.

One day, they received a new mission from a father in Patch. He was a retired Huntsman, but he claims that he lost his family's heirloom in a cave in Vale. He specified the location near Mountain Glenn, which was still being constructed.

"Mountain Glenn, Huh? Well, I've been wanting to see the mountains of Vale." Nayru said. She has a habit of wanting to learn more about anything she can.

"I also hear there's a scientist working in the mountains. Perhaps we can request Ozpin to give us the Scroll so we can take it to him." Dain said.

So they did, and Ozpin explained that he was planning on giving the Scroll to Merlot anyway, and that them going to Mountain Glenn would be a great convenience for him. They took a ship to Glenn, and the city was strangely camouflaged with the mountains. And in the middle was a tower with green lights around it. The city was mainly populated by scientists, but some constructors were still wandering around, doing maintenance around the city.

"How on Remnant did they manage to create a society on the mountains? It seems more risky than just making it closer to Vale, perhaps maybe in the Emerald Forest." Dain wondered, resting his chin in his hand in deep thought.

"Perhaps that's why. Maybe the scientists here want to preserve the Emerald Forest, and maybe Vale didn't have the resources they needed." Nayru said.

"Makes sense, I guess. But it doesn't make sense still. The Mistral mountains are far less dangerous than the ones here." Dain hummed.

"Well that's exactly why. The resources in Mistral's mountains would be much more depleted. Here in the Vale mountains, resources are hardly touched, so it'd be a more wise choice to choose Mountain Glenn." Nayru said. "Geographically speaking, not the best choice, but for resources, it's a better option than most."

"Alright, settle down, Nayru. Remember the objective. First, we request Merlot to help mass produce the Scroll, or at least improve the design, then we head out, find this heirloom, get back to Patch, and get paid." Ron said.

Soon after, they landed in the city. The scientists recognized them as huntsmen and asked their business. They claimed to be here for a mission, as well as a favor for Ozpin. After that, they were led through the city, which wasn't much to look at, but it wasn't Grimm ridden. That's all they could be thankful for. Though, from talk from passing scientists, they'd have had Grimm issues since they set up shop on the mountain.

The team suddenly had a bad feeling about this area. Nayru could feel it more, a disaster was bound to happen. And she knew it would end with a lot of death.

Regardless, they proceeded to the tall building in the center of the city. But the more they went through the city, the more uncomfortable they got. They've seen Grimm in cages the whole way through, and tubs of a strange green fluid, certainly not a liquified Dust, merely from the smell of it, were carried around everywhere.

Nayru's semblance allowed her to read minds, a useful tool to use when fighting an enemy, to be sure. But it made relationships a bit awkward for her sometimes. But the scientists thoughts were so disturbing to her, merely at the mentions at it. 'The hell are these guys even working on?' Nayru thought to herself. Her mind was screaming at her now that something was wrong here. Something was being kept from Ozpin, something Merlot doesn't want him to know.

She was certain now. Disaster was bound to strike.

"Guys? I don't think we should stay long." Nayru said with absolute concern in her voice.

"I agree that this place is creepy, but we got time. Besides, we need to at least get this favor done." Dain said.

"I kind of agree with Nayru, though. This whole place feels like it's cursed." Hyouga said shakily.

"What's the rush, ladies? If a Grimm attack does happen, we can handle it." Ron said confidently.

"No, I'm very much sure we wouldn't." Nayru said very sternly. She already had her mind set on her decision.

"Nayru… what did you hear from them?" Dain asked. He knew about her semblance, and knew if she had a bad feeling, she must have a good reason for it. She looked around. The scientists were quiet now.

"Later." Nayru whispered. Dain nodded, and they continued on. The scientists slowly went back to their routines, but the more they worked, and the more they walked, the more the others saw Nayru's paranoia. They saw a Creep next to a tub of the strange chemical, and it was doing everything it could to get away from the tub. It was disturbing to even witness, even though the Grimm were soulless. They had to wonder what the mysterious chemical was.

But when they asked, the scientists only say "it's classified." But Nayru could see. It was a complicated mixture of hundreds of chemicals, combined to make some twisted chemical reaction that could make the Grimm stronger.

'Why in the world would they want to make the Grimm stronger?' Nayru thought, no answers coming to head. At least, none that would make sense.

It was probably the first time in Nayru's life that she couldn't come up with a reasonable answer to something. It was so far fetched to even comprehend. The only closely reasonable explanation was that their goal was similar to their own. They wanted the academies to fall as well, and perhaps the kingdoms with it as well.

But to what end? Their own satisfaction? The fact that they get to gloat to none that they created the end of humanity? That they get to celebrate with death in the fact that they made Armageddon? Nothing made sense in this city, and Nayru knew that their absolute insanity and their satanic schemes would be carried out of no one acted. She knew now more than ever that Merlot would only take the Scroll for himself.

Her grip had tightened on the Scroll so much now that her knuckles turned white.

"Hey, Nayru?" Dain said, snapping his fingers in front of Nayru's face. She suddenly came back to present time.

"Sorry. I zoned out." Nayru apologized. Muttering in the air now, through the mindscape. Nayru's semblance now was activating on its own. The truth was screaming at her now, the hints to disaster out in plain sight, but seen by none.

Nayru gained a headache now from the thousands of thoughts coming and going through the mindscape. She clutched her head in pain as she closed her left eye. It was a piercing pain.

Merlot now stood outside the building, awaiting the team's arrival. Nayru's nerves, along with the hairs on her neck, were trying to drag her away from the man. His hair was white with two bright eyes, blue like the sky, with a lab coat on along with a turtleneck underneath, red as a fire. He wore a pair of glasses as a scientist gave him a series of papers on a clipboard. He looked up to the team, and his seemingly innocent gaze made Nayru's entire being scream, but no sound escaped her lips. Her vocal cords were caught, she couldn't even mutter a breath.

"Ah, you must be the students that Oz told me about. Greetings." Merlot said with such a kind tone.

"Hey. So, he told us to give you this Scroll. Nayru, if you will." Dain said casually. Nayru was paralyzed. Her was as still as the dead, her breathing almost nonexistent. Dain waved his hand in front of her. "Nayru, the Scroll." Dain repeated.

"Ah… uhm… I…." Nayru was at a loss for words now. Her brain couldn't think of what to say. Everything she heard on the way here made her want to simply kill this man, but she knew that Ozpin, along with her team, would never let her get away with it. Especially since they cannot read mindwaves. It was a choice for her now, to choose one horror scene or another, where either millions die, or hundreds. And she wouldn't doubt that in both scenarios, her death would be certain.

"Alright, you know what, I'll just give it to him." Dain sighed as he took the Scroll from Nayru. She reacted too late to try and take it back as it was already in Merlot's hand. Her heart was racing.

"So this is the device? It's quite… bulky. I feel we can make some finer adjustments to Vash's invention. I'll have my best men work out a much more complex design, but as well as a simpler interface." Merlot stated as he gave the Scroll to another scientist. Nayru slipped the tracker from the Deathblight onto the Scroll. She had no doubt that she'd need to track it down when they got back.

'You can do this, Nayru. Just get the mission done, and then… and then what? Kill every scientist here? Impossible, when by myself. And the others following? A foolish and childish hope. But what else can I do? Just let them overrun Vale with whatever fucked up experimental Grimm they have? Thousands would die then, and if it spread to even Mistral alone, millions. I can't let that happen.' Nayru's mind raced with all possible outcomes, and only one resulted in her survival, along with everyone else innocent in Vale. And that only would work if the others followed her lead. But she knew Dain was leader, and he surely wouldn't go along with it.

'I know the mission, I know the plan- but this isn't right. This is extremely fucked up. It's a crime against the evolution of life and death- and death is the favored victor. I can't let the academies fall to this rape of life.'

Nayru now had her mind set. She would end the evolution of Grimm here, and kill Merlot along with his dream.

'Gods forgive me for what I'm about to do today.'

[two hours later, Lament Cave]

"You'd think that with a cave nearby called Lament Cave, they'd move the city to somewhere a bit nicer." Ron said.

"It is a bit creepy in here. Let's just get this heirloom and leave." Hyouga agreed.

"I third that. Nayru?" Dain said. Nayru continued to stare at the ground as they walked. "Hey, Nayru!"

Nayru looked up. "I… I have to apologize. I should've said this earlier."

"Said what earlier?" Dain asked.

"I just froze when I saw him- fucking madman!" Nayru cursed.

"Calm it, Nayru! What's going on?" Dain asked.

"Merlot's plan is insane- he's gonna destroy Vale- and not just the academies! He'll kill whatever innocent civilians stand in his way!" Nayru exclaimed.

"Nayru…" Dain muttered. "...what did you hear?"

"He plans to take the Scroll for himself, and set a trap against Vale to kill everyone in there using the mutated Grimm. A Grimm attack unlike anything the world's ever seen. No collapse could be more certain." Nayru explained.

"Well shouldn't we let him? I mean, the academies ARE what we're after." Ron said.

"No! NOT like this! This is molestation to life! This is not right at all! If we were to leave him to his devices here and now, millions will die. But if we take action today, only hundreds will perish." Nayru said.

"But Nayru… you're telling us to commit homicide. We've never killed a person before. At least, never directly. Worst we've ever done was maim." Dain said.

"I don't care anymore. Toss all that moral bullshit to the side for one second. Are you really okay with millions of people dying to the Grimm?" Nayru said. Her voice not only carried words now, but a heavy burden. The burden of manslaughter, which, even more terrifying, was a burden Nayru was willing to carry, if it meant saving hundreds of thousands of innocent lives.

Dain rose up now. "I will stand by your side. Tell me what I need to do to save them."

"You know what, Yeah. The academies are full of bastards, but not everyone deserves to suffer being torn apart by stronger Grimm." Ron said.

"But…" Hyouga muttered. She shuffled nervously. "Are you all… really okay with… murder?"

"I don't want to kill them, believe me. But this is the lesser of evils. It's either kill them, or let them murder us and everyone in the kingdoms, and between. Just this once, we protect the academies." Dain said. Hyouga still was conflicted, however. Her morals told her to never kill another human. She was a Faunus, but she did not hate humanity like most other Faunus. But her heart told her that it wasn't just humans that would die, but also Faunus. The good, the bad- everyone would perish in the attack.

She sighed, knowing what she had to do. "Alright. We'll stop Merlot today." Hyouga nodded. Dain smiled as she agreed, but also knew how painful it must be for her to agree to kill another soul.

"Let's get the heirloom, then we'll launch the assault." Dain said.

"But we have to have evidence in order to prove Merlot's evil schemes. I put a tracker in the Scroll, which I can track from a terminal on the site. I just need a distraction." Nayru said.

"Ron and I can pull the attention and release some Grimm. You'll have to be careful, though. Once the Grimm are out, it's every man for themselves. But if we come into contact with each other, help fight, and clear a path to Merlot's tower. No doubt he'll be well defended by whatever tricks he has." Dain said, slowly pulling together a plan.

"Then do it. Hyouga, you're our eyes in the sky. Try to convince a pilot to make a round trip, and meet us at the landing pad at 2:00 O'clock, sharp." Nayru said. Hyouga nodded with understanding.

"What about you, Nayru?" Dain asked.

"I'll confront Merlot directly. Kōri Kibo has enough power to pierce an aura, if I set it to the basic blade setting." Nayru said.

"Remember to get evidence. Try to question him and record his responses with the Scroll. But don't let him see it, otherwise he'll lie. After that, kill him." Dain said. Nayru nodded.

"Alright guys, let's kill some bad guys." Ron said, slamming his knuckles into each other. Once they found the heirloom, which was an old sword, they returned to Mountain Glenn.

Ron opened with knocking out a scientist, who was about to shoot him. It became clear that the scientists were well armed, which made the plan a bit more complicated. Dain lit his sword on fire and sent a heat wave at the scientists, who were blinded for a while, allowing them to take them down. They weren't merciless, however, and did them in quickly with a quick slash to either the neck or through the heart. Blood began to stain their blades.

Nayru acted in the shadows, picking off one scientist at a time, using quick stabs to the spine and covering their mouths so she wouldn't be heard. If one alerted the rest of her location, it would make her job a lot harder. But Dain and Ron provided a good distraction for her to locate a single solitary terminal. She located the tracker's frequency, and found it was quite near to her location.

As Ron and Dain continued to slay the scientists, Nayru found an opportunity to nab the Scroll and made a dash for Merlot's tower. But as predicted, his tower was well defended, but Nayru didn't slow. She slashed through the ranks and froze them in their place, which would leave them to be eaten by the Grimm that she released from the cages. The study area that once was held to research Grimm became a slaughterhouse. Yet Nayru carried little shame or remorse for that, as she heard their thoughts.

Such disturbing thoughts, she heard. To use the underground train tunnels to launch an assault on Vale, and Vale directly. The idea of innocent people watching their intestines getting ripped from their torso and being eaten in front of them by the Grimm- it made her sick.

Hyouga crashed through a window and aided Nayru in her battle to the top. Ursa mangled the bodies of fighters and researchers- blood stained every wall as their teeth sank into the warm flesh.

Nayru looked at the time. 1:30. Only half an hour left until the bullhead came around.

She silently cursed as she realized they were running out of time. Merlot would probably take his time answering their questions. She knew how to make him talk, though. Though it was quite morbid, when she looked back on it. They crashed into Merlot's office, Hyouga pinning his two guards, blades right on their necks. Nayru reloaded Kōri Kibo as she took Merlot by the neck, putting the blade next to his throat.

"Answer me, and I guarantee you live. If not…" Nayru growled, slicing his cheek. Blood dropped out from it.

"You… how did you find out?" Merlot growled.

"I have a way of reading minds. Now tell me what you were going to do with those Grimm." Nayru snarled.

"Like I'd answer to you." Merlot scoffed.

"We can do this the easy way, though I prefer the fun way." Nayru smiled with a megalomaniacal smile.

"Try me." Merlot spat. Nayru shrugged, and plunged her blade into Merlot's left eye. He screamed in agony as Nayru pulled the eye out, and threw it to the floor. It shriveled quickly as blood poured from it.

"Don't make me take the other one. Or would you prefer something else?" Nayru smirked.

"You…" Merlot snarled, reaching for a knife on his desk.

"Right then, your arm." Nayru nodded as she set her blade on fire, slicing through Merlot's right arm. He was thrown out of his chair as he writhed on the ground, clutching his severed stump. Nayru put the arch of her shoe on his neck now. "Answer my question."

"Why ask? You already know the answer, you bitch!" Merlot coughed.

"My, such language. Perhaps you want me to take your tongue next?" Nayru asked as she cleaned her blade casually. She knew he couldn't beat him.

"Okay, fine! We planned to use them to destroy Vale!" Merlot shouted.

"Why?" Nayru asked with such a casual tone as though he answered a simple yes or no question.

"Who ever needs a reason now? I care so little for Vale, but their oppression against the Grimm- I wanted to show them that the Grimm have beauty in them!" Merlot pounded his left fist on Nayru's leg. It barely fazed her.

"I see. Well, I'm sure Ozpin will be happy to hear that." Nayru said.

"It's my word against yours, ice queen! Just try me!" Merlot shouted. Nayru smirked devilishly as she held up the Scroll.

"Nope. It's YOUR word against yours." Nayru smirked. "But thank you for being a sweetheart and answering my questions. I'm sure with all your knowledge you can fix that eyehole problem. Oh yeah, and the arm. That should be easy for a clearly superior mind, far greater than all these simpletons."

Merlot tried to grab at Nayru's leg, but she retaliated by kicking him in the face, which kept him down for a while. Hyouga took the butts of her two swords and knocked out the two guards.

"Why didn't you do that earlier? You could've helped out a bit." Nayru asked.

"I didn't want… to be a part of that. You took his vision and arm." Hyouga said shakily.

"But I let him live. Something I hope I don't regret." Nayru said bluntly. Hyouga didn't want to argue with Nayru, since her temper seemed to be calming, and she didn't want to aggravate her more. So they left the tower, releasing all the Grimm they could to rip apart the remaining scientists. The ship arrived just on time, and the team left after giving the pilot the evidence against Merlot's work. But the screams of the people in Glenn still reached them, high in the sky.

"Maybe… maybe we should've saved some of them." Hyouga muttered.

"Yeah, and have them later shoot us in our sleep. I'm through with trusting those bastards." Nayru growled.

"Nayru… you sure you're alright? You don't seem like yourself." Dain said.

"I'm fine. Just…" Nayru then began to shake. "Look, if you heard what they were thinking, then… then…"

"I get it, they thought some pretty messed up things, but who doesn't every now and then?" Ron said. Dain shot him a glare. "Sorry, too soon."

"Look, point is, we don't want that to get to you. Remember, you're the mind of the dragon. If the mind goes insane, so does the rest." Dain said.

Nayru slowed her breathing a bit, allowing herself to stop quivering. She sighed as she looked back at Dain, her blue eyes showing a bit more serenity. "Okay, I'm fine now. Just… Yeah." Nayru looked back down, as did the rest. A brief mourning for the few souls that may have been innocent in the disaster that would be known later as the Fall of Mountain Glenn.

They returned to Patch and gave the sword to the man. He thanked them in turn, and gave them some Lien.

"I cannot thank you enough. I hope one of my children will learn to use this blade." The man said.

"I'm sure they will, Mr. Ark." Nayru said. "If one of your kids needs a bit of training, I'd be happy to oblige."

"That's kind of you, but I think I'll have to decline that offer. I have enough combat experience to get them started." Mr. Ark said.

"If you say so. But if you ever change your mind, you can always ask." Nayru said.

"I'll make sure to keep you all in mind." Mr. Ark laughed. "But I just wish we'd have a boy."

"How many daughters?" Hyouga asked.

"Seven, so far." Mr. Ark said.

"And the diet your wife goes on?" Hyouga asked.

"Usually vegetables. Why?" Mr. Ark asked.

"Little Mistral superstition, the gender of the child is dependent on what the mother eats. Have her try meat instead, since that seems to be the most basic thing to getting a boy." Hyouga explained.

Mr. Ark laughed. "You people and your Mistral superstitions. Alright, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try. Thank you for all your help."

"Happy to help." Hyouga said, and they all took a bow to him before they left. Fortunately, they remembered to clean their weapons before visiting.

[a few days later]

The team was walking the streets of Vale, looking for some crime to stop, since classes were off for the day. Then suddenly, they came to the square of the city. A construction team has started pouring cement on the old railway. They all looked to each other, and knew what was going on.

"Looks like that evidence was enough to convince Ozpin. Glad we did the right thing, I guess." Ron said.

"The right thing? Is that what you call it?" Hyouga asked.

"She's right. We didn't do the right thing. We simply did the lesser of evils." Nayru said.

"S-Sorry. I was just saying-" Ron tried to said.

"I know. But murder isn't the way to go." Nayru's hands shook. "We messed up then. We didn't try to convince the innocent ones to evacuate beforehand. We left them all to die."

"But we take out crime all the damn long day, and no one bats an eye." Ron said.

"That's different. We save people from danger, keep those who can't fight safe. And we stop those who cause trouble. But on Glenn, we… we slaughtered them all." Dain said. "No. No more. From this moment onward, we kill no one else."

That day became a turning point for the team. Their innocence, Whatever was left of it, was lost with the mountain.

[bonus segment, deep within the mountain range of Vale]

Bats slumbered in the darkness, no form of light entered through the solidity of the rocks around. Only the gems reflected small rays of light through the pool of water that created small waves, which were tsunamis to the pebbles around them.

The cave was quiet, aside from the soft drops of water that fell from the top of the cave, which then echoed through the walls, and onto the metal. In the middle, the only thing that stood in the cavern of pure darkness and eternal dread. The sword that took the eye of the dragon stood, bringing light to the cave with the rays of the moon. The hilt of the blade was heavily rusted, as was the blade itself. But the power of the moon coursed through it still, caring little for the material in which it was bound to. It carried memories of sorrow, and a memory of a beast long forgotten to the world of Remnant. And it carried the burden of the fate of its old master, Grendel.

This blade had no name, for it was never recorded, but it once was called the Jinrui, the holder of mankind's fate. And the only thing that can release the Brimbreather from the bonds of the ancients. And from that, the true mission to team DRHN.


	7. Chapter 7: Past Warriors

Chapter 7

Past Warriors

Nayru woke to an echo within her dream, which never stopped. The echo always said the same thing, over and over. It had nothing to do with any of her memories, however, but it was a name, she understood. She engraved the name in her mind, but to what end? What was the use of a name with no owner? Did it even have an owner?

Nayru dressed herself, and proceeded to the library. She needed to find answers, even if the time was 4:45 A.M. Though it hardly mattered to her. She got to a computer and opened a search engine.

"Let's hope… Mariana…" Nayru mumbled to herself. The computer then showed her a whole story of one with the same name. "Mariana… companion of the warrior Grendel. Master of the elements and Dust…" Nayru's stomach dropped as she realized that there were four warriors. Four warriors. Four Huntsmen.

"Wait…" Nayru frantically typed another name. "Reval…" The same outcome. A whole story of the second companion of Grendel. A bird Faunus who mastered the very sky they sit under, and could wield both a sword and a bow at the same time.

"There has to be more." Nayru quickly typed in 'Companions of Grendel.' The final two came up. Their names were Synthia and Tyson, Synthia able to defeat a Grimm with nothing but a tree branch in her hand, while Tyson was similar, and able to defeat Grimm with nothing but a sharp blade in his hand.

"The companions of Grendel… do they- no, do we… do we represent them?" Nayru said as she rested her chin on her fist. She looked at each of their stories. They all ended the same, though. In the end, they were all betrayed by Grendel, and they fought him to the death. While only one escaped the battle alive, and was the one who sealed away the sword of Grendel.

But something told Nayru otherwise. "If it was us that represented those warriors, then three of us would be women. But we have two women and two men on our team. But that team- Team MSTR… it sounded to be exceptional. But if it does happen to be us, then who is Grendel?" Nayru questioned aloud. She then realized the sun beginning to rise. "It's morning now. I should get back to the dorm." Nayru turned off the computer, and walked back to the dorms.

But the whole way, her questions still followed her, their voices becoming louder with each step. She clutched her head.

"Leave me alone. I don't want this…" Nayru grunted, her teeth grinding against each other. But the voices in her head screamed louder. As if they were forewarning her of a terrible disaster that was bound to happen, something far greater than simply the academies falling. And for a split second, she envisioned the entire campus engulfed in nothing but fire, and people burning from the same calamity. And in the sky, which too was set ablaze, was a behemoth beyond her imagination. A terrible beast that stood taller than Beacon Tower, and equaled the length of the campus. Then, as quickly as it came, it vanished, and all was normal.

"What… What was that?" Nayru breathed. She ran now to the dorm. Everyone else seemed in a state of trauma as well, Hyouga hiding under her covers, Dain with his sword drawn, and Ron already having fired a bolt of ice at the wall in panic.

"You saw it too, Nayru?" Dain asked.

"Y-Yeah. The beast." Nayru nodded.

"And the campus on fire? Yeah, we saw it too." Ron snarled. He slowly lowered his hand. Nayru's cool finally was lost.

"What the FUCK is going on!?" Nayru screamed.

"I don't know. But… but it isn't natural. It's been happening ever since we left that damned burial site." Dain said, sheathing his sword. He breathed deeply, as he looked to Nayru. "Where were you?"

Nayru gulped. "Alright. I guess I should tell you what I found out."

So Nayru explained everything about her discoveries about Grendel, and his companions. And how they each correlated with themselves.

"This… This has to be a coincidence." Ron said nervously.

"How the hell could a spirit reside within another spirit? It's physically impossible!" Dain exclaimed.

"It has to be something bigger. It HAS to be connected somehow." Nayru slammed the desk as she said this. The desk cracked under her pressure.

"How do we know if anyone else has seen this vision as well?" Hyouga inquired. Everyone looked at her, and then they realized she was right.

"There might be others. There's four of us… and there was Grendel and four others. So that means…" Dain said.

"There's one other. We know that there were three women and two men. So that means the last one is a woman. Most likely the spirit of Synthia. But the question is which of you two is Tyson and which is Grendel." Nayru stated. Both Ron and Dain exchanged glances.

"So which of us is going to betray everyone else?" Ron sighed.

"I would never! We all know this, we all would die for each other!" Dain said. Everyone looked at him. He suddenly felt a wave of dread. "...right? Wouldn't we?"

"Of course we would. But it all depends on the future. On what events will unfold." Nayru stated. They all then sat in silence for an hour, all trying to contemplate the future events.

It was almost impossible for them to begin to believe they had the spirits of the past warriors inside of their own souls, and yet it all seemed so real. As if they knew it the whole time.

Then they got a knock at the door. They opened it to see team STRQ.

"What is it now?" Dain asked.

"Ozpin called for us. He said he has something to tell us and us alone." Qrow said.

"Probably just some little update." Taiyang said.

But team DRHN wasn't fooled by the call. It was related to the vision. Ozpin knew about them, and now he would tell the truth.

When they arrived, past the tense ride up the elevator, the atmosphere in the office was so tense a knife could cut through it. Ozpin sat at the end, hands folded and elbows resting on his desk, the gesture he always made when he had something important to tell. They realized now this was far more than just a schedule change.

"Please, step in." Ozpin said, much more calmly than he should have, or has ever been in the entirety they've known him.

"What is this? Why did you call for us?" Raven asked.

"I know I should have told you this at the beginning of the year, but I didn't know if you were ready. But with recent… events, it is clear that I must tell you the truth." Ozpin said.

"Can you explain these visions?" Summer asked. Team DRHN all looked at Summer in surprise.

"What… visions? Like seeing the whole campus in a burning blaze, with a behemoth dragon in the sky breaking the world?" Nayru asked, Summer twisting her head toward the team in shock.

"So it wasn't just me." Summer said.

"Just as I thought. You all have finally awakened." Ozpin said calmly. "I suppose by now, you know your true names. If not, I shall clarify. Nayru Lana, you hold the spirit of Mariana, master of Dust and elements. Lucia Hyouga, you hold the spirit of Reval, conqueror of the skies and master of aerial combat. Summer Rose, you possess the spirit of Synthia, master if the environment around her. Dain Ral, you hold the spirit of Tyson, master of single edged weapons and on par with the final spirit, which Ron holds. Ron Fare, the final spirit within you is that of Grendel, who achieved mastery of swordsmanship, and was granted the heart of the moon, infused into a single blade, known as the Jinrui."

"Woah. So you mean that they all are the legendary heroes of the past?" Taiyang asked.

"Not yet. They still have a ways to go before they are granted the full power of their spirits. So in preparation for the calamity known as the Brimbreather, I shall from now on be giving you five special training. I should warn you, however, that it is far more rigorous than anything else this academy has to offer." Ozpin explained.

"So what does this have to do with us three then?" Raven asked.

"Because I have not finished yet." Ozpin replied. He now stood, cane in hand. "What do you think of the Grimm?"

"I… beg your pardon?" Summer asked.

"The Grimm. What do you feel is the truth of them? Do you believe they have a ringleader?" Ozpin asked.

"I'm… not sure we follow." Raven answered.

"Then let me simplify. The Grimm do indeed have a leader- a commander. Her name is Salem, but that is the extent of what we know. She guides the Grimm to unimaginable lengths, and she is dangerous herself. She is manipulative, deceptive. She uses those skills to force others to do her bidding, so she can focus more on storing her strength. In short, she is our true enemy." Ozpin said.

"Why… why are you telling us this?" Taiyang asked.

"Because over the years, you have shown impeccable strength, and a strong hold of your own independence. Even going so far as to destroy a whole settlement for the safety of a kingdom." Ozpin directed his eyes at team DRHN, who began to grow pale.

"H...how did you…" Dain stammered.

"Considering the blood stains on the ship when you got off, and the lack of wounds on yourselves, it was easy to rule out what exactly happened." Ozpin said.

"But you didn't hear what they thought." Nayru growled. "They planned to destroy all the kingdoms using enhanced Grimm. And not just sharper claws and thicker hides. Creeps that served as suicide bombers, DeathStalkers that could take on an Atlesian army. King Tijitus that could spit both fire and acid. They planned to make a goddamned apocalypse!"

"Yes, I know. Merlot, however, didn't seem to be under the influence of Salem, so he was acting on his own." Ozpin stated. "Which, in my eyes, is quite disturbing to think of him and her joining forces."

"So we should go after him, make sure the slate is clean." Nayru demanded, but Ozpin waved it off.

"Going after him now, after such a great concentration of negative emotions, would only send you all to your deaths. The number of Grimm would be all but too much for you all." Ozpin said. He stated it with such a firm tone, that it became clear that he would not change his mind anytime soon.

"Alright then. So what do we do? If this Salem is real, and she's out there, why don't more people know? Why don't other people know about all these mythical beings?" Nayru asked. She stomped her foot as she asked the last question.

"Long ago, it used to be common knowledge, history even. But as time passed, those history lessons became nothing but pages in children's books. They simply passed out of knowledge. If we were to announce that a great evil could control the Grimm, how many people would believe us?" Ozpin asked. Everyone looked to each other, wanting to say otherwise to Ozpin, saying that the world would believe, but they all knew they wouldn't be fooling anyone but themselves.

"No one would believe us." Qrow muttered.

"Exactly. And there is another thing. If people DID comprehend the fact that the Grimm had a leader, they'd either demand that we focus all our efforts on finding her or there'd be chaos. And either outcome would be a disaster for everyone." Ozpin said.

"Wait, hold up. Focusing every Huntsman we have on finding Salem sounds like a damn good idea right now!" Ron exclaimed.

"At first glance, yes. But think more on it, Mister Fare. If we focused one or two Huntsmen to track Salem down, it wouldn't be a problem. But if all our Huntsmen were to leave the academies and kingdoms…" Ozpin said, leaving the end to be interpreted.

"There'd be no one to defend the kingdoms." Summer said, Ozpin nodding.

"And with the kingdoms being all but defenseless, Salem would destroy the world within a day." Ozpin said.

"If you'll excuse me sir, but I think you're over exaggerating." Taiyang said.

"I wish I was. And in a sense, you are right. But if the kingdoms went up defended, and Salem found all four Maidens…" Ozpin said, then snapped his head up. "Right, skipped over that."

"Skipped what?" Nayru asked.

Ozpin then went to explain the Maidens, along with the gods and the relics they left behind, and how powerful they all are. After he finished, it took awhile for the two teams to digest the information. But though the idea seemed so far fetched, it seemed all too real coming from Ozpin.

"So… that's why you limit the knowledge of this all. To protect everyone from themselves." Summer said.

"Precisely. So I ask of you, please do not speak of what happened here today, and what you have learned. If others outside of this room hear of this knowledge, I fear it will spread, and chaos will tear apart the kingdoms. Is that understood?" Ozpin said. Everyone nodded, as they knew the serious consequences that would befall them if they disobeyed. "Very well. I am… sorry, to burden you all with this knowledge. But know that there are others who know this, for better or worse."

"Sir, if I may ask one last question?" Dain said.

"Go ahead." Ozpin nodded.

"What… would happen? If someone managed to collect all four relics?" Dain asked. Ozpin sighed.

"I feared that you'd be curious of this. If one was to gain control of all four, then the world itself would be under their very will. They could mold the world to any form they wished. They could create and destroy anything, a power many men wish to possess. So that is why each academy keeps a large number of Huntsmen around them at all times. So that it would make it near impossible for Salem and her forces to slip in." Ozpin said.

"I see. So that's why the academies exist." Dain mumbled to himself.

"If there is nothing else, you may go." Ozpin said dismissively.

They all bowed to him as courtesy, and left his office. Though, the tension in the room did not loosen at all.

Later that day, Ron was by his lonesome to take a walk around campus.

Then he found a strange, black orb.


	8. Chapter 8: Rude Awakenings

Chapter 8

Rude Awakenings

It was finally time. They finally tracked the location of the legendary blade, the Jinrui. At long last, they could put forth their plan.

The academies, on that day, would finally fall.

It was located in a cave in a distant mountain, a mountain known as Mount Hermano. The cave entrance was deliberately sealed by an ancient lock, but it was easily broken by Nayru. Inside, however, were machines made specifically to defend the treasure. But they were technologically inferior. Their blades tore through them like a hot knife through butter. But then came a surprise, as a withered mechanical dragon fell from above. It had eight legs and four wings, like a combination of a dragon, dragonfly, and a spider. It breathed ice at the team, as they retreated for cover, meanwhile Nayru countered with fire Dust.

"And here I thought this would be a walk in the park. But then this jack hole decides to rear its ugly mug." Ron growled, drawing his sword.

"Hey, Ron. Don't waste that here. There'll be plenty of uses for it." Dain said, Ron nodding and sheathing his blade. Then Dain rushed the dragon and sliced its neck open, which spewed multiple variants of Dust as Dain sliced upward, which split the dragon in half.

"Good job, path's clear." Nayru grinned. Then before them was a lake. When Dain went to go in, it seemed to shock him, forcing him to get out.

"Damn, that smarts!" Dain grunted. He massaged his leg to get feeling back in it.

"This is my cue. Time to get my sword back." Ron said.

"Right. Well, good luck, friend." Hyouga said. Ron nodded as he pulled in a deep breath and jumped into the lake. He felt no sense of shock, except for a slight chill from the water. At the bottom was a great hole. Strangely, when he reached the bottom, his ears didn't pop once.

He followed the path of the hole, soon coming to a soft light. He smiled widely as he found his prize. "At long last. My precious." Ron licked his teeth. The sword was very rusty, but he cared not. He grabbed the hilt eagerly, and pulled with all his strength. But the blade broke, and from the shell came the moon's heart. It then morphed another cocoon, a long blade of about three feet long, which was pure metal, and the part where the hilt and blade met, there was a strange device. It had a row of red lights and a white light at the center, and the hand guards opened to spew light that was just as sharp as the blade.

The Jinrui was dead now. For now, Ron held a completely new blade. A blade he called the Daímonas, a blade of unparalleled power, capable of absorbing any attack and retaliating with the same power.

"Perfect. They won't stand a chance." Ron smirked as he raised the sword, which let out a radiant beam of cerulean light. But suddenly, the cave began to shake. Ron escaped the room quickly as the light faded, now bringing a great darkness to the cave.

"Ron, hurry! We have to go!" Nayru shouted. Ron burst from the water with the Daímonas in his back.

"Got the sword, let's get the hell outta here!" Ron exclaimed. But as they ran, a boulder caught Hyouga's coat, and created a hole that led to a crevasse, which flowed violently with rushing water. It almost spelled her doom if not for Dain acting quickly. He grabbed her hand as Nayru grabbed Dain's other hand. Hyouga now dangled from the edge. Her coat was ripped badly, and the gravity dust from inside was all but gone.

"Don't… worry, Hyouga! We'll get you out!" Dain grunted.

"You have to go, otherwise we'll all die." Hyouga said calmly. It was disturbing how calm she was.

"Hyouga, you are NOT dying today! None of us are! Now when we're so close to our dreams!" Dain shouted. Nayru almost slipped, but Ron grabbed hold of her for extra stability.

"We can't stay much longer, Hyouga! Hurry, climb up!" Nayru shouted over the collapsing cave.

"Dain…" Hyouga handed him her swords. "You'll find them of more use."

"Lucia Hyouga, stop this." Dain said. "I can't lose you too! Not now! You know you can't shield yourself!"

"I know. That isn't why." Hyouga said. Her grip loosened.

"LUCIA, NO!" Dain yelled, tightening his grip. "We're all going to live! We have to!"

"Don't worry, Dain." Hyouga smiled almost reassuringly. "We'll meet again soon. I promise." She then forced herself out of Dain's grip, and she fell to the ravine. Dain's voice was caught in his throat, he couldn't even scream. Hyouga vanished into the rushing water, out of sight. But never out of mind.

By the time they get out of the cave, everyone was in shock, horrified of what events unfolded in the cavern.

"Lucia… she… maybe she's still alive." Nayru said, with a bit of hope.

"No. I saw it. Jagged rocks and a rushing ravine. No doubt about it, she's dead." Dain snarled. He pounded his fist into the dirt, angered at his own weakness. "She… dammit. She was the most innocent of all of us. She didn't deserve any of this." Tears flowed out of his eyes and dropped to the ground.

Nayru and Ron shared the same sorrow, but Ron's sorrow quickly turned to rage. "Fuck it, we're doing it!" Ron exclaimed, unsheathing Daímonas. The hand guards opened and light shot out. Dain quickly shot a glance at him.

"Ron, no. We can't." Dain said, wiping the tears from his face.

"Why the fuck not? This plan has gone untouched for so Damn long, and I intend to see it through!" Ron exclaimed, jabbing Daímonas into the ground. The very ground surrounding it began to ignite. "Unless you intend to stop me, Tyson."

"Ron, what are you talking about?" Dain asked, but Ron jabbed again.

"Ron is dead! His spirit was weak! His resolve was weak! But then… she showed me the way. She brought me back to life." Ron said, laughing to himself.

"No… Grendel?" Dain snarled.

"You catch on quickly, vessel for Tyson, but nay. I am not Grendel. At least, not yet I am not. I still have a ways to go before this body is ready for me. But my consciousness has overcome the one you call Ron. What a laughably emotional boy he was." Grendel laughed. Dain gritted his teeth and unsheathed Jigoku.

"You bastard. What have you done to Ron?" Dain growled.

"Don't worry, he is not fully dead. But if I feel bored, I might just end him. Or maybe just switch back and forth to see you suffer from seeing your friend in pain." Grendel laughed harder now. He was not the legend that he was said to be, Dain realized. He was a madman, blinded by avarice and personal gain.

"You are no hero, Grendel. So…" Dain spun his sword several times before pointing it directly at Grendel's neck. "I will stop you, and save Ron."

"Save him now, Huh? Pahahaha! You are laughably naïve. To think you alone could save your friend and stop me. Very well then. It'll be a good warmup for me to take on the wizard." Grendel smirked. "What was his name again? Ozpin?"

Dain snarled as he rushed Grendel, who leaped out of the way. "You bastard! I'll kill you!" Dain shouted.

"And your friend? Pah! You must be truly desperate and blind!" Grendel chuckled.

"Then fight me, you coward!" Dain yelled. Grendel sighed in annoyance.

"Fine, fine. You're starting to give me a headache." Grendel said as he spun around Daímonas. It lit up bright blue. "Then show me the power of the dragon's breath, Dain Ral."

"You two, stop this!" Nayru shouted.

"Stay out of this, girl!" Grendel then shot his gauntlet at the ground, creating an ice wall, separating them from Nayru. "This is between me and Tyson."

"Well then, show me that you aren't all talk." Dain said, turning his blade, and spreading fire across it.

"Gladly." Grendel smirked. Their swords clashed, the force of Grendel's power impacting Dain fully. He suddenly realized that Grendel was considered a master swordsman for a reason. But he stayed resilient, and got up. "Still got some life in you? Good. I was beginning to think you weren't gonna give me a good fight."

"You won't be disappointed then." Dain said as he raised his sword. Their swords clashed again, and again, almost at lightning speeds. Fire began to ignite The Emerald Forest, burning the northern area completely. At the rate that it was going, the Brimbreather was almost unnecessary.

But through the fire, they continued to fight. It hardly bothered Dain, and Grendel was used to being surrounded by flames. So the environment hardly mattered to them. But soon, Dain was struck by Grendel's attack, and he held the blade close to his face.

"You know, you did disappoint me. Such a shame, too." Grendel said. He then took the laser on the hand guard and dug it deep in Dain's shoulder. He cried out in agony as the fires waved in the sudden wind. "Look at that, Tyson. The gods are calling for you." He took it out, and then raised the sword high up. "Better not keep the devil waiting." But before Grendel could strike, an arrow hit his blade, causing him to stagger. Then a white flash hit him like a truck as another arrow pierced his shoulder and pinned him to the ground. "Gah! What the-"

A foot caught his throat, and all he could manage was a soft gurgle. A pure white feather landed next to Dain as he clutched his shoulder to see his savior. An eagle Faunus with wings of radiance and starlight. In her hand was a large steel bow that looked like a pair of wings. Dain could hardly believe the face behind the wings.

"H-Hyouga!" Dain exclaimed.

"Reval. So… you finally awoke." Grendel snarled.

"I have. And my wings have returned to me, thanks to her." Hyouga said.

"Son of a bitch. The only reason you beat me is because I was distracted!" Grendel snapped.

"That's not true, Grendel. You know full well you could've avoided me, but you simply weren't fast enough. Ron is keeping you crippled." Hyouga said.

"Well, that's a shame. Regardless, you're too late Reval. See, before our battle, I had the Daímonas begin the ritual. So say hello to my pet." Grendel said with a wide grin. The whole ground then shook violently.

"No." Hyouga gasped. The ground cracked as a valley became a hill, and from the hill sprouted the greatest calamity to exist. The incarnation of Grimm's darkness and man's violence- the Brimbreather. It roared and set fire to the sky, a sea of flames engulfing the forest. By the time they recovered, the behemoth was in the sky.

"Pahahahah! Finally! The world will be mine to control!" Grendel laughed. Hyouga shut him up by kicking him in the temple.

"Hurry, we need to get to Beacon!" Hyouga exclaimed. "I'll take us there!"

Dain And Nayru nodded and took Hyouga's hands as she flew them to Beacon, where the calamity dragon would, in the pretold future, destroy all life.

But for them, destiny was theirs for the taking.


	9. Chapter 9: Battles Reborn

Chapter 9

Battles Reborn

The dragon flew over the kingdom, its wings of death spreading over it and covering it in a quick darkness. But Vale itself was not the beast's prize, for it was the castle it sat under, Beacon itself. And afterward, it would relish in devouring and burning the rest of the kingdom. But before it got to the tower, a large bubble surrounded the campus, protecting it from any harm. Hyouga flew Dain and Nayru to the field in front of Beacon, where they devised a plan.

"What do we do?" Hyouga asked.

"Hyouga, you keep on flying. Keep firing on the Brimbreather, see if it has a weak point. Nayru, you need to assist Hyouga. Try to power up her shots with any Dust you can fire." Dain commanded.

"Will do. What about you?" Nayru asked.

"I'll go to the campus, try to find Summer. She's the last one we need to beat this thing. Once I find her, we'll decide what to do afterward." Dain said. Nayru and Hyouga nodded, and Hyouga flapped her wings, flying sky high. She notched three arrows and fired them all at once, all hitting their mark. Unfortunately, the scales of the dragon were extremely thick and tough, unable to be pierced by any sword, beside the Daímonas. And it was clear that Grendel wasn't going to help them out anytime soon.

So Hyouga continued to hammer on the dragon, Nayru using bolts of numerous Dust types to either hit the dragon directly or power up Hyouga's arrows. And her aim was always true, but the power never was. But the dragon finally was done playing games, and readied a great fire in its belly. The city of Vale, in a split second, was turned into an inferno. The calamity, in one attack, had crippled the entire kingdom, all the while the Huntsmen of Beacon watched helplessly as the great dragon destroyed their homes. Meanwhile Dain rushed to the crowd. He searched frantically for Summer, but she was nowhere to be seen.

'The dorms. They must be taking shelter in there.' Dain thought. He rushed to the dorm of team STRQ, where, as Dain predicted, they were watching through the window as the dragon burned Vale to the ground. "Summer, we need you." Dain said quickly.

"I know you do. But you must understand the futility in this. Even if we ground it, what can we do?" Summer said.

"Without Grendel, you mean." Dain said. Summer nodded.

"Wait, what happened to Ron?" Qrow asked.

"Grendel's taken his mind. He's… not what legends say he is. He's a monster, heartless and stripped of any basic human emotion." Dain told the team. "And we just gave him the most powerful weapon in recorded history."

"You mean the Jinrui?" Raven asked. "Why did you give it to him if you knew?!"

"We didn't at the time. The Jinrui- as he calls it now, the Daímonas, It must've awakened Grendel." Dain said. Then an idea came to him. "Only reenactments of the past warriors can awaken them. Hyouga must've known this when she fell."

"So you're saying in order for our counterparts to awaken, we need to jump off a cliff?" Summer asked.

"No! Well… maybe. Look, I don't know know how it works! But…" Dain then stepped back, turning his back to the team as he rested his chin on his fist. At that moment, a vivid memory came to him. It showed himself- no, not himself, but someone similar to himself reaching toward the sky, and a heavenly ray landing in his hand.

Without thinking, he raised his hand to the heavens. Harmlessly, a ray of light pierced the dorms and went into the palm of Dain.

He heard an echo of a voice. "Dain Ral, son of Dale Ral, your spirit has awakened the mythical power within. Tyson Oron, I bestow upon you your blade, kept within the stars for the time you end the cycle of rebirth."

The light burst open, and a single edged sword now was held by Dain, with a stream of green flowing through it, as if infused with the blade itself.

"Dain Ral, you now hold the only counter to the Daímonas, a blade known as the Astéri, the heart of the sun itself, as the Daímonas is the heart of the moon, whole as the sun. Now fight, use the Astéri to annihilate the great dragon, and bring safety to Remnant." The voice faded after those words, as Dain observed the blade. The hilt was of pure gold, but it was as solid as bedrock. The blade looked of silver, but was tougher than diamonds, and razor sharp.

And as he lowered the sword, he remembered everything. The memories of Tyson Oron, the endless cycle of torment he suffered, and how every generation the spirits of the team and Grendel were reborn, if only to battle again, and repeat the cycle of reincarnation and desolation.

"No. No more." Dain muttered. "It shall end, here and now. The legend of Grendel, the greatest lie to exist, ends now!" Dain rushed out to Beacon Field, Astéri in hand and ready for battle. Meanwhile Summer watched, from the distance, almost saddened at Dain's decision.

"He must know. He must realize that defeating Grendel is pointless." Summer muttered to herself.

"Uh, hello? Is Summer in there? We'd like very much to have her back." Qrow said.

"What do you mean? It's me, Summer." Summer said bluntly.

"Uh, no. We know better. We know our Summer wouldn't turn a blind eye to a whole kingdom in danger. We're heading out, so we need our leader back." Taiyang said.

"You don't understand, though! You don't know the Brimbreather like I do! It can't be killed! We tried centuries ago, but it's heart was like bedrock!" Summer exclaimed.

"So that explains it." Raven sighed. "Summer, if you can hear me, you'll have to forgive me."

"Forgive you for wha-" Summer asked, but was cut off when Raven backhanded her across the cheek.

"Give us back Summer, Synthia. We have no need for you nihilist attitude." Raven growled.

"Who do you think you are to command me? I am Synthia, champion of Vale! I led the charge of the final battle of the Great War sixty years ago, far before any of You ingrates were ever conceived!" Synthia stomped.

"And yet you suppress your host, simply because you're scared of a flying lizard. Figured a hero like you would be a bit more selfless." Raven scoffed.

"You-!" Synthia stammered.

"Fine. Since you're so stubborn." Raven took Synthia's arm in an iron grasp. She recited a silent chant, and suddenly Synthia collapsed.

"What did you do?" Qrow asked, catching Summer.

"I reversed the suppression. Oz taught me a little spell to do so a while after he told us about the warriors. Guess he knew Synthia would be stubborn about fighting the dragon." Raven replied.

"So we got Summer back?" Taiyang asked. Raven nodded as Summer's eyes fluttered open.

"Five more minutes." Summer sighed. "It's too early for this."

"No time, leader. We got a world to save." Qrow snickered.

"Oh, right. That. Well, so long as you think you still need me." Summer said.

"Hardly the time for jokes, Sum. Team DRHN is fighting the Brimbreather." Raven said. That seemed to get Summer up.

"Alright, fine. But after this, you guys owe me a cup of coffee." Summer said.

Raven laughed. "If the battle doesn't wake you up any, sure." They gathered their weapons and headed to battle.

Meanwhile, Hyouga was having trouble keeping the dragon from the city. Some buildings have already collapsed by now, while the inferno continued to spread. She flew arrows of lightning, which arced lightning in the trail of the arrow as it struck, and sometimes Nayru would enhance the arrow with various elements, but it didn't pierce the dragon either way. The scales were too tough for just the two of them. But then a stream of green energy nicked the monster. It impacted with such force that it fell straight to the ground. Dain rushed in and slashed downward on the dragon's belly, which caused a significant scratch on the scales.

The beast roared with anger as it kicked Dain away, merely by the sight of the blade it's anger flared. And with its anger, so did the city go up in flames. It was devastated by the attack, over a hundred homes destroyed within one blast.

"This is bad. At this rate, Hyouga's gonna run out of energy to keep the academy protected." Nayru said, gritting her teeth as she shot an ice bolt at the dragon. No effect.

"Have you still not awakened yet?" Dain asked.

"No, Mariana hasn't woken up yet. Why is it?" Nayru asked.

"I don't know. There must be a reason. But for now, focus on the dragon!" Dain shouted over the fires. The dragon now homed in on the school, but it was pointless in their eyes as the fire vanished on contact with the shield. But Hyouga seemed to suffer the strike.

"No. This isn't good." Nayru turned pale. "The dragon is wearing Hyouga down. If this keeps up…"

Then a drum sounded. Only two beats at first, then another two. Even the dragon seemed intrigued at the sudden sound. Then another drum. More drums sounded, and the sound echoed throughout the field. From the shield marched the Huntsmen of Beacon, United in arms and sound. Their boots sounded for miles, their weapons raised to the march. More instruments played. A song of fine spirits, and one of courage, power, and wisdom. Courage of the acknowledgement of the danger they were up against, power in overcoming that fear, and pushing forward.

And wisdom, in knowing how to defeat the Brimbreather. They leveled their weapons, and went for the charge. Summer leading the charge with team STRQ. Dain, Nayru, and Hyouga joined the charge of hope as the Dragon spit another inferno. But Hyouga blocked the fire with a new shield, stronger than the last.

"This is it! We either die martyrs, or live heroes!" Dain shouted over the war cries. The dragon seemed frightened at the rally, and tried to retreat, but Summer acted quicker. She vanished in a flurry of roses and took a thorn ridden vine, thicker than any rope, and wrapped it around the dragon's wing. It uprooted the tree, but the extra weight slowed it down and caused it to be just too slow to escape the onslaught. The Huntsmen rushed the beast and caught it at the wings, ripping the left one wide open.

The Brimbreather roared in pain as they all tore their weapons into the already wounded scales. Their weapons clashed with it, and ripped the scales apart, revealing the flesh of the dragon. Dain rushed the flesh with Astéri and ripped it wide open, the bedrock heart revealed.

"HYOUGA, NOW!" Dain shouted. Hyouga flew to the sky, higher than she's ever flown before. She notched her sharpest arrow, infused with electric Dust as she dove back down, Nayru catching the arrow with some ice Dust. She drew back the final arrow of the battle as it flew right into the belly of the dragon as it began to fly again.

Her aim could never have been more true, as the arrow pierced the dragon's heart and sent freezing lightning through the dragon. It roared an eardrum rupturing cry as it flailed desperately. But soon, it became silent.

A small ember passed its fangs, and the light within its barbaric eye flickered and faded. The Brimbreather, calamity of the old and new age, was no more.

But no song was sung, for the count of death among the citizens was far too much. The flames of the great calamity brought a terrible death to the people of Vale, for the population was now halved.

"This is all Grendel's doing. That megalomaniac is responsible for all this damn heartache!" Dain exclaimed. "To think that he would help us!"

"We cannot blame ourselves, Dain. We had no idea Ron- er, Grendel, would act that way." Hyouga said. She wrapped her wing around Dain.

"Lucia, you know what I must do. I can't just stay here. I have to go after Grendel. I can't allow Ron to suffer because of that son of a bitch." Dain said.

"I know. Which is why I shall help you." Hyouga said.

"Me too. Even if he's possessed, Ron was a friend. As much as he got on my nerves." Nayru agreed. Dain let a smile form on his face.

"Thank you. So what's the plan?" Dain asked.

"I'll look over Menagerie. There's a chance he might attack there to invoke the Faunus." Hyouga said.

"Good plan. I'll try to search the mountains here in Vale." Nayru said.

"And I'll remain here, making sure he doesn't come back here." Dain said.

"Are you sure, Dain? What if he attacks another kingdom instead?" Nayru asked.

"Then I'll be there. If he so much as sneezes, I'll be there with a handkerchief and a blade." Dain said. He looked to the Astéri. "Besides, with this thing, I can finally go toe to toe with him."

"I don't believe that blade is recorded in history. What even is it?" Nayru asked curiously.

"It is the counter of the Daímonas, and the heart of our sun." Dain explained. "But Nayru, I believe you should stay in Vale as well. Help rebuild, and try to awaken Mariana."

"But I… I don't know what to do. For the first time in my life, I don't know what to do!" Nayru exclaimed. "A-Am I going insane?! What do I do, Dain?!"

"Keep it together, Nayru! I'll help you through this, I swear! Just stay with me." Dain said, grasping her shoulders to keep her from moving so much. Eventually, Nayru regained her composure.

"I'm sorry, I just… it's so hard. To think. To know. I… I…"

"Just stay calm. It's us now. Hyouga's gonna go protect Menagerie, so we have to survive on our own." Dain said.

"Dain, the only way we've survived is by sticking together. If we separate…" Nayru said. A tear streamed down her cheek, but Dain wiped it off with his thumb.

"That was before. This is now. Besides, we got Team STRQ to help us now. So long as we all stick together, we can defeat gods." Dain said, referencing Nayru the first time they met Hyouga. "Isn't that right, Nayru?"

Nayru looked Dain in the eyes, and nodded silently. "Yes. So long as we stay together." But Nayru's lip still quivered as she hugged Dain. "I'm so fortunate to have ever met you."

"Same here, Nayru. I'm glad the tides of fate brought us together." Dain said, returning the hug. Hyouga joined in by hugging the both of them, wrapping her wings around the party.

"If you ever need me, give me a call. I'll be there to help, whether it be a battle against the Grimm or with yourselves." Hyouga said.

"Thank you, Lucia. We'll meet again soon." Dain said. Hyouga then took off to Menagerie, where she'd be the guardian angel of the Faunus.

"Hey you two, you ready to get back to work?" Summer asked.

"Yeah. Nayru?" Dain said. Nayru released Dain, and wiped the tears from her face.

"Yep. Ready." Nayru nodded. They then went to work on rebuilding the kingdom, and burying the dead.

But the rage within Dain never died out. All the deaths were caused by one man's eternal avarice, and he never even showed any shame in such a selfish action. But then Dain remembered what Grendel had said.

"But then… she showed me the way. She brought me back to life." Dain recalled. Questions began to form in his head. The main question being "Who is 'she?'"


	10. Chapter 10: Growing Up

Chapter 10

Growing up

"I… beg your pardon?" Ozpin asked.

"Who is she?" Dain demanded. "The one who revived Grendel."

"Professor Ozpin, could it be Salem?" Glynda asked.

"Yes, no doubt about it. That can be the only explanation to it." Ozpin muttered to himself. "Dain, do you recall when I told you about Salem?"

"Yes. You claimed she was the leader of the Grimm, but not much about her was discovered." Dain nodded.

"Good to see you were paying attention. But if Ron has encountered her…" Ozpin said.

"Then we can catch him, and make him give us answers!" Dain said, finishing Ozpin's thought.

"Precisely. However… I believe it best if we keep this between everyone in this room. If Nayru were to learn of this, I believe she would do something rash. Given her current mental state, judging from what you told me. I recommend giving her time to… recover." Ozpin said.

"So we have to…" Dain said, mulling over it in his head. Eventually, he nodded. "Understood. It's… it's a secret."

"Thank you. In the meantime, we'll continue to search for him." Ozpin said.

"I appreciate it, sir." Dain said, bowing to him, and then leaving.

"Why did you tell him?" Tyson said in Dain's mind.

"Because I knew he would know. And with his support, finding Ron and tracking him down will be infinitely easier." Dain replied. Tyson, however, simply sighed in indifference.

"Sometimes, you people really confuse me. You do realize that Ozpin will simply try to imprison Grendel instead of killing him, right?" Tyson said.

"I don't mean to kill Ron. Though, trust me when I say that I want Grendel dead more than anything." Dain said

"You realize what you're doing, right? Even with the Astéri, he's still the greatest swordsman to exist. To take him on while Nayru's spirit is still sealed-" Tyson tried to reason.

"Then we'll awaken her. We'll awaken Mariana before he has a chance to strike the academies again." Dain snapped. The elevator doors opened, and Dain exited Beacon Tower. In the distance, Atlas ships had arrived to assist in reconstruction. They brought workers, supplies, food and water, so that the people may live to see Vale reborn.

The weeks passed, which then grew to months. And with it, New life. Taiyang and Raven were engaged shortly after graduating from Beacon, and the next year, their first child. A baby girl, which they named Yang Xiao Long.

However, shortly after Yang's birth, Raven vanished without a trace, leaving Taiyang with their child. At that time, Vale was rebuilt completely. So to take their minds off the stress for a while, the two teams(what remained of them) took a walk through the newly built kingdom

"Well, credit where credit's due, Atlas sure knows how to put the shine into the newness of it all." Nayru said.

"No kidding. Now I think I'M gonna need a guide around here." Summer laughed.

"Won't that be a twist of events?" Dain laughed along, as did Nayru.

"I hear Signal took a beating as well, so they're still rebuilding it a bit." Taiyang added.

"And I'm willing to bet they'll need some new teachers." Summer said. She nudged Taiyang's shoulder.

"I'm good with kids, but not that good. I couldn't do it." Taiyang said.

"Tai, over a year ago, we all killed a fire breathing dragon and saved thousands of lives. I think you can handle training a few kids." Qrow said.

"Yeah, not like the kid's will kill you on the first year. Now, on the second or third year, maybe. And so on and so forth. But point is, you'll have better skills with children, and it'll be easier to raise Yang." Nayru said.

"I guess so." Taiyang mused.

"And besides, it's not like you'll be teaching at Beacon, where every student knows how to take down a fully grown Ursa." Dain added.

"Alright, I get it. If it's what it take, I'll do it." Taiyang said.

"Such a noble man. Why can't you be more like him, Dain?" Nayru said.

"Hey, who's side are you on?" Dain questioned.

"My own. Is that so bad?" Nayru said smartly.

"Well look where that put Grendel." Dain smirked.

"So… friendless, soulless, and a megalomaniac. On second thought…" Nayru said with an awkward grin.

"Don't worry, it's not like you committed high treason. I'll forgive you." Dain playfully said, patting her back.

Before they knew it, another year flew by. In that time, Taiyang and Summer had gone on a number of dates, and in another month, married. The next year, Taiyang was gifted with his second daughter. She was given the name Ruby Rose, a decision to give her Summer's maiden name from Qrow.

"Just by looking at her, I can already tell she'll make something out of that name." Qrow explained.

"She's even got your eyes, Summer." Taiyang said.

Summer gave a warm smile. "Ruby. My little rose." She nuzzled the infant, and the child laughed with her warmth. She then looked to Qrow. "If anything happens to me, promise me you'll protect her. Her and Yang."

"Of course." Qrow nodded.

The years flew by, and soon Yang could speak sentences. And Ruby was quickly learning by example. When Yang could walk, soon did Ruby. When Yang could talk, Ruby soon could too. When Ruby turned 5, her and Yang began using foam swords to practice fighting. They often followed example with Taiyang and Qrow, who often started by saying "Let's show you how a real Huntsman does it." The good times seemed they would last forever. Summer's cooking would grow better each day, and the team's fighting would grow even more so.

But it was not to last. One day, Dain, Nayru, and Summer were called to Beacon. Along with them even came Hyouga.

Ozpin sat with the most serious expression on his face. Dark cloud blocked the sun as the air moisture rose.

"You know why I brought you here." Ozpin said.

"We do. You've tracked Ron down." Dain answered. Ozpin nodded.

"Correct. If intel is correct, he is heading for Vale as we speak." Ozpin stated.

"Oh hell. If he comes here, it could be the Terrible Blaze all over again." Nayru gulped.

"From which direction? We could plan an attack." Summer said.

"He's currently coming from the north. From his current course, he should end up in Beacon Field." Ozpin replied.

"We can plan out a pincer attack. Sunner and Hyouga can come from the front while Nayru and I can sneak from behind, and attack him at once." Dain suggested.

"I fear that may not work. He will be expecting a whole legion awaiting his arrival." Ozpin said.

"Then we respond with one. We gather as many Huntsmen as we can and we go in with everything we have." Summer stated.

"And increase casualties as a result?" Ozpin questioned, Summer no longer seeming confident with her suggestion. "If we are to defeat him, we need a well thought out strategy."

"Then we attack from all sides. There's four of us, and he's by himself. Right?" Nayru said.

"From intel, Yes, he's alone. But that would be the most obvious attack pattern." Ozpin said, quickly pointing out the flaws of each strategy.

"Then what can we do?" Hyouga asked.

"I suggest you confront him. As a group. There is little cover in the field, so he will see you. It will be easier if the playing field is weighed in your favor. So after you engage him, we'll send the call for Atlas backup to arrive." Ozpin said.

"So you expect Ironwood to simply give you a back rub while we fight him?" Nayru growled. "Well I say hell to that! That bastard is taking Ron's body and using it like he owns it! If Ron is still in there, I want him alive!"

"You're right. If Ron is still alive, he may have valuable information." Ozpin nodded.

"I cannot believe you." Nayru said, slack jawed.

"I-"

"I don't give a damn about Salem anymore, Alright?! I want my friend back! He got on my nerves more times than I can count, but that's what friends do! If you want to question him, be my fucking guest, but I'm getting my friend back. That means we take him alive." Nayru said.

"But he-" Dain try to say.

"We. Get. Him. Alive. Okay?" Nayru snarled.

"Nayru, calm yourself. You aren't-" Hyouga said.

"I'm not myself? Sorry Hyouga, but you don't know a thing about me. You don't know what it's like to be a space to Atlas, to be taken from your home and put in a Dust mine for ten years- to be taken from your damn country and put into a goddamn iceberg!" Nayru shouted. Everyone was silent, until Dain spoke.

"You weren't born in Atlas?" Dain asked. Nayru suddenly snapped back, her face beat red.

"I…" Nayru choked on her words.

"Nayru…" Hyouga said. Nayru bust through them and into the elevator.

"Nayru, Wait!" Dain shouted, rushing after her. When he got to the bottom, Nayru was sitting just outside on the stairs, head in hands.

"Go." Nayru sniffed.

"Nayru, If there's something wrong-" Dain said.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Nayru shouted, pushing Dain on his back. "I… I was never meant to admit that. Especially in front of Ozpin." Nayru then sat back down.

"I'm not wanting to hurt you. Just talk to me." Dain said.

"You don't understand, Dain! I'm not really Mariana, nor have I ever been! It was just a stupid name I whispered in my sleep!" Nayru shouted, tears beginning to escape her hands. "When Ozpin said I was her, I thought then maybe. But you all have awakened, and… I'm just still here. Being left behind by my closest friends and family."

"What are you talking about, Nayru? We'd never leave you behind!" Dain said.

"But you are! Ever since we got here, I've been nothing but the smug one that thinks she's the shit, but then reality comes around and she realizes that she is… just an ordinary girl. A regular girl sold into slavery and is put in the middle of a great legend… only for her to be just a side character." Nayru took her hands out of her palms and looked to the sky. "I'm nobody. Nobody but a girl who can only dream."

Dain took her hand. "What's so wrong with that?"

"Don't try to console me, Dain." Nayru sighed.

"I can relate to you. When my village burned down, I thought it was due to a giant Grimm that was far stronger than anything else. But it was just regular Grimm, and they got in because one Huntsman didn't do his job. For so long, I hated the Huntsmen academies because I thought they were the same. But Beacon- no, team STRQ showed me that Huntsmen are sworn to protect the innocent." Dain explained. "And for the longest time, I thought the plans would never work. Because I was me. Because I was normal. But that's what I am, normal."

"Yeah, normal with another soul inside you." Nayru scoffed.

"Not like that. Tyson doesn't matter now. It's just me. And you. We're the great dragon of Vale. If one part of us crumbles, the rest follows." Dain said. He took his other arm and wrapped it around Nayru's waist. "So none of us are left behind."

"Dain…" Nayru muttered. A drop of rain fell.

"So we'll save Ron. We'll all go back home, no matter the cost." Dain said. More tears streamed from Nayru's eyes. "Which is why I'll help you in any way I can."

Then before he could react, Nayru pressed her lips to his. More rain fell as their embrace tightened, Dain wrapping both hands around her waist.

When fire and ice fuses, water is all that remains. And so water fell, drenching the two as the kiss broke.

"Thank you." Nayru said finally.

"O-Of course. Anytime." Dain said dumbly. Nayru laughed at his response.

"Didn't expect that, did you?" Nayru giggled.

"I mean, I sort of expected me to do it, but when you did it, it kinda took me by surprise." Dain said quickly.

Nayru laughed even harder. "I have my surprises too, you know."

"And here I thought your last surprise was that you weren't born in Atlas." Dain said. Which led to his next question. "So if you weren't born in Atlas, where were you born?"

"Mistral. In a little town called Kuroyuri." Nayru answered. "So since I'm from Mistral, the correct pronunciation is Lana Nayru."

Dain nodded slowly. "So… should we head back?"

"Nah. Let's just stay here a bit longer." Nayru said. They sat in the rain for another two minutes, looking at the sky with heads close.

"I'm guessing after this, it's a date." Dain said.

Nayru giggled. "If you're up for it."

"Alright then." Dain chuckled.

After that, they headed back to the tower, where they would plan their final battle against Grendel.


	11. Chapter 11: The Head of the Snake

Final Chapter

The Head of the Snake

The time had come. The battle to decide the fate of the kingdoms had now begun. But not in the way most would soon conceive it to begin. Instead of starting with the clashing of blades, it began with the clashing of voices.

Grendel appeared before Dain and Lana, with the Daímonas in hand. It was already stained with blood, most likely the blood of those who tried to stop him before. "So, The breath and mind decide to meet the fangs in the final battle. But where is to be the wings, or the white rose?" Grendel asked.

"You will know in due time, Grendel, traitor to mankind. But for now, we are your opponents." Dain replied.

"I know what you wield, heir to the sun. You've become quite the big talk recently, having been able to "control the stars themselves, and call their power to his hand." Does that sound about right?" Grendel smirked. "But I know all you are is just a boy. A naive boy who believes he alone can control the fate of the universe."

"And you can?" Dain asked, Grendel's smirk fading. "I've grown up, Grendel. I now know I could never control the universe on my own. So that's why I made friends, because I know I'm not strong on my own."

"You know, it's never wise to admit your flaws to your enemy." Grendel stated mockingly.

"Good thing you're not my enemy, right Ron?" Dain said with a grin. Suddenly, Grendel kneeled with a pained expression. "I knew you were still in there."

"P-Please, Dain. Nayru." Ron grunted. "I can't… hold him back forever. You have to… destroy the-" Ron reeled back, agony now expressed in his eyes.

"Stupid fucking boy! I'll show you true strength, fools!" Grendel shouted. He then lunged at the two, slashing at Dain first, who parried the strike and saved Lana in the process.

Grendel looked at them, fangs bared and bloodlust in his eyes. A never ending need to murder and slaughter, no matter what race or species. The face of a true megalomaniac.

Lana shot a bolt of fire dust onto Astéri, which made it shine as bright as a star. The light temporarily blinded Grendel, which opened up their attack. Both Lana and Dain slashed at Grendel, both hitting their marks. Grendel retaliated with a slash at Dain, But Lana blocked it, allowing Dain to hit the sword to the ground and allowing Nayru to jab at him. Knowing the tides were not in his favor, Grendel fell back to give him some breathing room.

"I'll admit, you've gotten stronger since our last fight. But that won't save you." Grendel said, the Daímonas flying back into his hand.

"Really? Cause it looks like you're the one who's losing right now." Dain taunted.

"Oh, don't worry. The more you hit me…" Grendel licked his teeth, spinning his blade and tearing the ground, "the stronger I get."

"Dammit, I forgot he still has Ron's body." Dain said as Grendel flew at them at blinding speeds. His clash was stronger than any wind, causing Dain to fly sixty feet away. Grendel then slashed at Lana, who blocked the first strike, but couldn't counter the next one. Grendel flew fifty feet into the air and stabbed at Lana's chest, but Dain pushed her out of the way. In the distance behind Grendel, the grass rustled. 'They are in position. Perfect.' Dain thought. "NOW! BRIM JAW!" Dain shouted. Suddenly, Grendel's feet were tied in vines and a white blur rocketed to the sky. The blur was followed by a maelstrom of arrows that ravaged Grendel, as Summer used more vines to lasso his sword arm to the ground.

With the sturdy vines around his body, he was trapped.

"Do you see now, Grendel? When we work together, we can defeat titans. Surrender, and let this battle end." Dain said.

"I… I will…" Grendel gasped, the vines choking him. He was close to falling to his knees, but somehow, his strength prevailed. "YOU KIDS WILL NEVER DEFEAT ME!" Suddenly, his strength flared, and the vines snapped. The Daímonas created a shockwave that pushed everyone away from him. By the time they recovered, Grendel held Summer at the throat. "You want to see strength, Dain?! I SHALL SHOW YOU STRENGTH!"

"No!" Dain exclaimed, but it was too late. Grendel plunged his blade into Summer's chest, and threw her to the ground. Her body became limp, and her white hood crimson.

"Summer…" Lana gasped. She gritted her teeth. "You bastard!" Lana shot dozens of ice Dust bolts at Grendel until his entire body was covered in a thick layer of ice. But he broke through it with seemingly ease. He walked toward Nayru as she continued to pelt him with Dust round after Dust round.

"Lana, run!" Dain shouted.

"I have to prove my worth to you, Dain! I have to kill him! For Summer!" Nayru shouted, drawing her blade as she rushed him. But her blade seemed to cause no effect. Hyouga flew above and shot a single arrow at him. It pierced his aura, but he didn't even stagger. He simply pulled the arrow out without even showing his teeth.

"This fight is between me and Tyson, girl. Get out of my way." Grendel said with a grizzly voice.

"Then fight me, you worthless scum!" Dain shouted. Grendel shot a glance at him.

"Very well then. But first, some ground rules." Grendel smirked. He kicked down Nayru and encased her with his own ice Dust. Then as Hyouga flew above, he grabbed her leg and threw her down and encased her arms and wings in ice. "None shall interfere. A battle between the sun and the moon."

"Very well." Dain said, sweat coming down his forehead.

"And the prize shall be those two's lives. Whoever wins shall decide their fate." Grendel said, a wide grin upon his face.

"That's-!" Dain tried to retaliate, but then Grendel dug his blade into Hyouga's shoulder, who cried out in pain.

"If you don't agree to my terms, then they'll die either way." Grendel chuckled.

"You fucking mad man." Dain growled. But he sighed. "Fine. I accept your terms."

"Good." Grendel said, removing his blade from Hyouga's shoulder. "And lastly, gladiatorial rules. The victor may also decide the fate of his opponent."

"Very well then." Dain nodded. For the first time, Grendel was honorable, and their auras were equal. The test was now of tactics and strength. The sun and moon clashed with each other, night and day becoming one in a great eclipse. Each clash provided light. Their movement was that of light, the fight went unnoticed by most.

Fire and lightning lit up the sky during the eternal eclipse. Each time they collided, the world lit up. Chaos from the dragon returned as the field caught fire. Eventually, their auras were depleted. And they were left exhausted, facing each other with their blades shining brighter than the moon itself.

"Do you see… the futility… in all… of this?" Grendel breathed.

"I do." Dain coughed. "But it won't… stop me. I'll never stop fighting you. Never!" Dain shouted.

"The soul of Tyson lives within you yet. You never change." Grendel grinned. His blade shone brighter.

"Dain, the soul of Grendel lives within the blade. The heart of the moon contains all of our souls." Tyson said.

"I see." Dain said. He steeled himself for the next attack he would do. But it failed, as Grendel blocked his strike and slashed his waist. Dain could no longer stand, and fell to the ground, clutching his side.

"Ahah Ahaha! I emerge victorious! And what to do with you and your friends…" Grendel laughed. "I know! I'll cut your heads off and feed them to some Beowolves! A fine feast you'll provide." Grendel then raised his sword to jab Dain in the heart to finish him off.

"Then do it. But we'll just return one day. If we die here, we'll be reincarnated, and we'll kill you." Dain snarled.

"Then I'll enjoy killing you for eternity." Grendel laughed. But as he thrusted his blade, it did not meet Dain. Instead, an arrow hit the blade and made it hit the ground next to Dain. And then they saw Lana with Hu and Ryle in hand. The fire from their battle had melted the ice that held them down.

"I thought I said no interference!" Grendel exclaimed.

"You did, and I abided by the rules. After all, the fight is over." Lana said smugly.

"You were always a-" Grendel snarled.

"Pain in the ass? Yeah, I get it a lot." Lana smirked. Then Grendel fell for the bait and plunged his blade into Lana, but it didn't go in. An aura of white covered her as the blade skimmed off her harmlessly.

Hyouga weakly held up her hand as blood began to stain her shirt. She said nothing as Lana used Ice Dust to stick the sword to the ground.

"It's over, Grendel. Without the Daímonas, you're a fish out of water." Lana said as she pointed her blade at Grendel.

"You think I can die? Phahahah! I am immortal, you stupid child! I can return to this world for the rest of eternity!" Grendel laughed as he rose to Lana. She jabbed at him, but he took Ryle and spun it around, making it jab Lana instead. But Grendel didn't see Hu in her other hand as she returned the gesture.

"Don't seem very immortal to me." Lana smirked. "And for a few thousand years of wisdom, you're not very perceptive either."

"What are you-?" Grendel growled, but then he heard footsteps behind him. Dain stood with the Astéri in hand, ready to stab.

At the center of the Daímonas.

"NO!" Grendel exclaimed. But his reaction was far too late, as the heart of the moon was destroyed. And the earth shook violently as the ground of Beacon Field cracked with the moon in the sky. And the eclipse ended, and light returned to the world.

But Dain and Lana lay next to each other. With one hand over their wound and the other hand with the other's. "We… we did it." Lana smiled.

"Yeah. We killed Grendel." Dain smiled back.

"If only… if only we could've lived through it." Lana coughed.

"But you know, it's good to be with you at the end." Dain said.

"Gods, Why did you have to make it awkward?" Lana laughed.

"I-I'm Sorry." Dain said quickly.

"I'm messing with you. I'm glad to be with you in the end, too." Nayru smiled. Another hand joined theirs.

"Don't leave me out, guys." Ron said weakly.

"Oh, come on dude. We were having a moment." Lana said.

"Like you said, I'm always a pain." Ron laughed, then coughed.

Lana laughed. "Yeah. A pain to the very end." Then another hand was joined.

"Don't suppose there's room for another pain, Huh?" Hyouga smiled.

"Lucia, you were never a pain. Most of the time." Dain said. Hyouga laughed.

"Good to know I at least participated." Hyouga said weakly. Dain then saw the shoulder wound in her shoulder was bleeding fast. As for Ron, he was completely missing an arm and a leg. The fact he was still holding on proved his strength and will.

"Well, it's a shame this is how we went. Fighting each other." Dain said.

"But I'm glad it went this way. This way, nobody wins today." Ron added, making everyone realize the truth in his statement.

"Yeah. Yeah, at least Salem doesn't win today." Lana agreed.

"And… Huh. I can't hear Tyson anymore." Dain added.

"Really?" Lana asked. Dain nodded. "Well, I guess that makes us equal."

"Yeah. A perfect ending, if you ask me. Just wish.. that I could've held up to that date." Dain sighed.

"Something tells me I missed something." Ron said. Everyone laughed.

"We'll catch you up to speed in Elysium." Dain smiled. Then, the final hand joined them.

"If it's all the same, I'd like to join in that conversation." Summer smirked.

"Summer. I thought… well, at least you're here for the end too." Dain smiled. The earth then shook again, and water began to wash the blood from them.

"Looks like that end is fast approaching." Summer said.

"Well, here's to a great life of adventure. See you guys… in…" Ron said, but before he could finish his sentence, he passed.

"Ron…. I'll see you there." Dain said. Then he saw Hyouga's eyes close, and soon after, Summer's, whose final words were, "Like the rose petals, we scatter." Then it was just him and Lana.

"Finally. Just the two of us." Lana smiled.

"Yeah. I guess…" Dain said.

"Come on, dude. Just say it." Lana urged.

"I love you, Lana." Dain said. Lana smiled.

"I love you too, Dain." Lana said. They then shared their final breath, and their lips met as the ground gave way. Their lifeless bodies plunged into the new lake before Beacon. And in the sky, the cracked moon moved for the sun. For the next day, their funerals were held in Beacon.

Summer was given a grave on a cliff on Patch, while Dain, Lana, Hyouga, and Ron were given graves in the Emerald Forest, at the edge of the green light that shone from Beacon tower in the morning. So at dawn, their graves would shine for all to see.

And so now you see the turning of a teams' hearts, and the struggles they faced to destroy a great evil.

For now you know the story of Team DRHN, and how they helped shape the world of Remnant.


End file.
